X-Force: Fight the Future
by Bubba Hyde
Summary: The war with Apocalypse has ended, but Cannonball continues to lead the X-Force against the enemies of the mutant race. Young mutants are disappearing and the team will do whatever it takes to end this new threat, including going against the X-Men. Cannonball, Wolfsbane, Siryn, Boomer, Warpath, Mirage, Cypher, Wrath & X-23. Reviews much appreciated.
1. X-Force 1: Bent & Broken

Disclaimer: Marvel owns everything here except Wrath...that train wreck is mine :-)

A/N: An alternate version of X-Force from Earth 730.

The X-Force, a special operations unit formed by Charles Xavier's former students, the New Mutants, stand ready to strike at the enemies of the mutant race. Their aggressive approach to the conflict between humanity and the mutants has put them at odds with their mentor and the X-Men. However, with the mutant nation of Genosha reduced to ashes and anti-mutant hysteria raging after the war with Apocalypse, the X-Force may be the best hope for the survival of the mutants.

This Issue:

X-Force: Cannonball, Boomer, Siryn, Mirage, Warpath, Wolfsbane

X-Men: Wolverine, Storm, Professor X, Archangel, (Northstar & Jean Grey)

Students: Pixie, Wind Dancer

* * *

><p><strong>X-Force # 1: Bent &amp; Broken<strong>

**Xavier Institute – Westchester New York**

Charles Xavier sat in his office, reading the latest incident report that lay before him on his desk. "You've seen this?" he asked Ororo.

"Yes Charles...it's horrifying..." she muttered.

"Horrifying doesn't begin to describe it..." he sighed as he closed the folder and pushed it away in disgust. The folder contained a police report detailing the latest in a series of brutal hate crimes against mutants. This time the perpetrator was a group known as The **Reavers**...a group who had made their voice heard by abducting and crucifying several young mutants.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Logan growled as he walked in and sat down.

"Those who were immediately responsible for the attack have already been arrested...our goal should be to find out who's responsible for organizing and funding these groups and deal with them appropriately."

"Good...cause you can rest assured nobody else is going to do anything about it...arresting these lackeys is like putting a band-aid on cancer." he snorted as he tossed the folder aside.

"Logan, I share your anger...but I'm going to ask all of you to use the utmost discretion in dealing with this situation. It's our job to protect the innocent, both human and mutant, but in doing that we don't want to provoke more violence if we can help it."

"Fine Chuck...if that's how its gotta be, but we better get to work, cause I gotta tell ya...I don't enjoy sittin here on my ass while kids are gettin killed and I could be doin somethin about it...and I a'int the only one." He said as he lit a cigar and left the room.

"Regrettably, he's right." Xavier said gravely. "Atrocities like this only make Eric right...and his actions do the same for the humans...if either side succeeds, millions more could be killed."

"Which is why we're all behind you...we have to learn to live together...we'll make your vision a reality." Ororo reassured him.

"Thank you...without your support...we would have been at war years ago..." He said.

"There have been times when I thought about giving up..." she admitted. "All this anger and violence can poison your soul if you let it...but every time was ready to give up and go home, I stopped and looked at the kids and realized I had to keep on fighting if they were going to have a future." "They believe in you Charles...I believe in you...you could have done so many things with your fortune, but you chose to help a handful of children that no one wanted...we'd lost hope before you took us in and showed us what good we could do with our lives..."

"Don't make me out to be a saint..." Xavier interrupted.

"You never forced any of us to fight...we chose this life because we share your dream and your respect for life...and we're not alone." she said as Sophia and Megan flew past the window, chasing Warren. The new students were all adjusting well and most of them were delighted to be able to attend the institute and learn from the X-Men. They reminded her so much of the New Mutants when they had first arrived, but those happy memories were soon marred by regret. It was never Xavier's intention to turn them into a fighting team; he wanted to offer them a sanctuary free from abuse and violence to learn to use their powers for the greater good. Unfortunately, they often found themselves in harms way and despite their heroic intentions, their lives had been filled with sorrow and suffering.

"I don't want them to end up like the New Mutants." Xavier said grimly. "I don't want these children exposed to violence…."

"Charles, they chose to fight to protect the innocent…they suffered for it, but so have we all." She said emphatically. "They're strong, just like the X-Men and while we may not agree with everything they do…they still believe in your dream…we need to believe in them."

Ororo excused herself, she didn't like seeing her mentor so depressed, but she certainly understood his feelings. The past few years had been extremely difficult for all of them, but especially for Xavier; his health was deteriorating, Danielle had been depowered by the Purifiers and the New Mutants had become more angry and militaristic as a result. He held himself responsible for putting them in harms way, but if they hadn't intervened, the mutant race might not exist today.

The battle with Apocalypse had almost destroyed everything Xavier had spent his whole life working for and it had taken the life of his most cherished student, Jean Grey. Her loss had shaken the team to its core and even now, a year later, they had yet to fully recover. Scott and Emma's relationship certainly didn't help matters and Ororo had to admit, she was shocked by Scott's behavior; everyone else was still grieving for Jean, but he seemed completely indifferent now that he was with Emma. His daughter Rachel was so hurt that she'd left and no one had heard from her in months and while Scott and Nathan had never been particularly close, they weren't speaking to each other at all now.

So much had changed and not for the better she thought as she paused and looked out the window. The whole world still hated and feared them and it seemed like everything they'd done had all been for nothing, but then she saw Sam and Tabitha walking through the institute's garden and she felt her hope restored. That poor girl had come from a terrible home, almost as bad as Rahne's but she'd grown into a fine young woman, a true hero and Ororo was proud of all she'd accomplished. Changing the life of a poor, abused, unloved teen might not seem like much, but it was the first step toward healing a broken and suffering world.

'_I'm so proud of all of you…'_ she thought as she noticed Rahne sitting on the bench under the oak tree on the far side of the garden, studying for her classes. She and Tabitha were the youngest at nineteen, but they had graduated and now Rahne was studying to become a teacher. Danielle was twenty two, a college graduate and the newest instructor now that Josh Foley had restored her powers. Sam had become the leader of X-Force now that Cable had set up another team on Muir Isle. Roberto would be taking over as head of X-Corp. Los Angeles office with Amara as his second, while Theresa was second in command of X-Force and James was serving on the team as well. She didn't know much about the newest addition, Michael Holmes, other than the fact that he'd been trained by SHIELD since he was fourteen and he'd fought with the Avengers against Apocalypse in the battle for New York a year earlier. She had to admit that she didn't agree with _everything_ X-Force was doing, but she trusted them to make the right decisions and not endanger the peace the X-Men were working to preserve.

* * *

><p><strong>That Evening at Harry's Hideaway<strong>

"To Dani." Sam said as everyone raised a bottle. "Welcome home." He added. The years hadn't been kind and so much had changed, but Danielle felt good to be back sharing a drink with her friends. Sam, Rahne and Theresa were all that was left of the original team and James and Tabitha were all that was left of the new students. It would have been wonderful to have Richter, Illyana and Roberto there as well, but Danielle was just happy to have anyone after everything that had happened to her.

"You know…..I didn't think it was possible, but this place has gotten even worse." Danielle said as she looked around the bar.

"Aye….it really has….there was a fight in here th' other night." Rahne said as she took a sip of her beer. The bar might be rough sometimes, but it was mutant friendly and Harry didn't look too hard at their fake IDs as long as they didn't get drunk and cause trouble.

"I can't believe how much you've changed furtop….there was a time when you wouldn't come within a mile of the place." Danielle said. She'd left the team after being tortured by the Purifiers resulting in the loss of her powers and while she and Rahne had stayed in touch, she'd missed out on a lot. Rahne had grown her hair really long, gotten as many piercings as her roommate Tabitha and she'd started dressing more like her too. Danielle had to admit she liked Rahne's new _'biker'_ look and her more outgoing personality, but she was jealous over her close friendship with Tabitha.

"Yea, when I was fourteen….." Rahne said sarcastically.

"Did _you_ corrupt my sweet little sister?!" Danielle asked Tabitha with mock indignation.

"I tried, but she's still a saint compared to the rest of us." Tabitha said as she downed her beer and reached for another. _'Wow'_ Danielle thought. _'She could drink Logan under the table…..'_

"How did you two get to be friends?" Danielle asked, making both Rahne and Tabitha laugh. "Did I say something funny?" she asked.

"Aye…." Rahne laughed. "Tabitha couldn't stand me when she first moved in….we used tae fight all th time."

"Yeah…..I was really awful to her." Tabitha admitted. "I was going through a really bad time in my life….."

"Go on." Danielle said. "Long teary-eyed stories are part of being a New Mutant…..I'll buy your next beer if you tell me." She was dying to know, she'd been back a few weeks, but between her duties as a teacher and being Josh's guardian, she hadn't had much time to catch up with Rahne and the others.

"We're X-Force now Dani." Sam reminded her as he put his arm around Tabitha, making Danielle a little jealous. She'd been attracted to Sam before she'd lost her powers and while she didn't expect him to still be single, let alone waiting for her, she was still a little sad. It seemed like Tabitha had filled the void she'd left behind and she wondered if the others really missed her.

"What the hell…..we're all friends right?" Tabitha said as she finished off her beer.

* * *

><p><strong>Two Years Earlier<strong>

**Xavier Institute – Westchester New York**

'_She's so lucky to have him...'_ Rahne thought as Sam parked his truck in the garage and leaned over to give Tabitha a quick kiss on the cheek. Tabitha had returned to the institute about two months ago and they'd quickly become attracted to each other. Tabitha was her roommate and she was really close to both of them, even taking Sam to church with her. Part of her wished that _their_ relationship had become more serious that just a strong friendship. She was ashamed to admit that she was a little jealous of her roommate, but she couldn't help it, Sam was a really great guy. He was kind and patient, he was strong, honest and a really hard worker...he was also really good looking too, the kind of guy she'd always hoped to have a relationship with. Unfortunately, he treated her more like a little sister than anything else, so Rahne made up her mind she wasn't going to be jealous anymore, that was just selfish and wrong. It was Sam's choice and he'd chosen Tabitha; she loved her roommate and she felt like she was betraying her by even having thoughts like these. _'I'm happy for you, and I promise I won't come between the two of you.'_ she thought as they got out and started walking back up the driveway to the institute.

After everything she'd learned about her roommate, she realized Tabitha needed Sam more than she did, she felt that God had brought the two of them together for a reason and she trusted him to lead her to the right man for her. Rahne didn't know _all_ the details, but she knew Tabitha had a horrible relationship with her parents, especially her father, so it was pretty obvious to her why she was so attracted to Sam. Rahne hated her father and she knew exactly what Tabitha was going through and really wanted to help her. Despite their blossoming friendship, Tabitha wasn't really eager to talk about her past and Rahne tried to respect her privacy, but she was really worried about her.

Tabitha didn't really fit in well and some of the instructors regarded her as a slacker and a bad influence on the others. Fortunately Ororo and Professor Xavier seemed to be on her side and they kept trying to work with her even though she was given to blowing off Danger Room training and sneaking out to go get drunk at parties with the kids from town. Rahne could see that all Tabitha's drinking, partying and flirting was just a cover for her own self-doubt and the pain she felt from being abandoned and unloved. She tried to talk to her about it when she first moved in with her, but Tabitha couldn't stand Rahne's wholesome attitude and thought she was being holier than thou. Rahne was offended, but she refused to give up on her and started following her to make sure nothing bad happened to her and no one tried to take advantage of her.

At first Tabitha had been annoyed by Rahne tagging along with her, but after the last party they went too, she was glad she had. Rahne had caught a guy putting GHB in her drink and stopped him and his friends from taking advantage of her or any of the other girls at the party. Rahne was one of Logan's best students in self-defense class and she wiped the floor with him without even using her powers. His friends freaked out and bailed on him before anyone could call the police, but she wasn't about to spend one more second at that party. Rahne grabbed her inebriated roommate and got a ride from one of the girls from her church before the police arrived, but they'd still gotten caught by Logan.

Rahne pleaded with him not to punish Tabitha or tell the others what had happed, to let her handle it when she sobered up. Logan would have refused such a request from anyone else, but he had a soft spot for Rahne and he knew he could trust her to always do the right thing. He gave Rahne his word and even carried Tabitha back to their room for her. Tabitha was sick most of the night and Rahne stayed up with her and took care of her until she was well enough to talk about what had almost happened. Tabitha was so ashamed of herself she didn't know what to say to Rahne, she knew how dangerous the world _really_ was and she couldn't believe she'd gotten so drunk she'd fallen for that. She realized Rahne really did care about her and wanted to be the first _real_ friend she'd ever had.

Tabitha also realized she was ruining her life just as her parents had ruined theirs and the thought that she'd nearly been raped by five guys made her reconsider her idea of a good time and she'd stopped drinking so much and hanging out at those kind of parties. She knew Rahne wasn't going to stop following her and for the first time in her life, she stopped to consider what effect her actions were having on other people. Tabitha would never forgive herself if something happened to her, she was beginning to truly understand how special Rahne was, she respected her now and she was glad they were friends. She also began to notice that as strong as Rahne seemed to be, she was hurting inside as well and Tabitha wanted to help her.

"Tha' new haircut looks really good on ye Tabby." Rahne said as they walked up the driveway.

"Thanks, I thought it was time for a change." she said. Her hair had been really long, but now she'd gotten it cut short and it looked great on her.

"Yeah and ya helped some poor kid with cancer too." Sam reminded her as he leaned over and kissed her.

"That's really what made me go through with it...and I'm really glad I did." she said as she put her arm around Rahne. Rahne had told her she could donate it and she was glad she could help someone and look good doing it.

"Tabitha, you've got a visitor." Jean-Paul said as he greeted them at the door. "He's in the old sitting room." he added, nodding toward the door.

* * *

><p><strong>The Old Sitting Room<strong>

"Why are you here?! You know you're not supposed to have any contact with me!" Tabitha snapped as she walked in and saw her father. _'What the hell was Northstar thinking?!'_she wondered. She thought she'd made it clear to the instructors she never wanted to see either of her parents ever again, especially not her father, she had a restraining order against him. Unfortunately, Jean-Paul had just come back to visit and he didn't know about her father; otherwise he'd never have let him near her.

"You're my daughter; I just wanted to see you again." Martin Smith answered as he held out his arms. The insincerity was evident in his voice and he wasn't fooling anyone, let alone her.

"You're just here because you're broke." Tabitha said bluntly as she took a step back from him. There was no way she was going to hug him after everything he'd done. Sam and Rahne both took a step toward him and gave him looks that could have melted steel.

"What the hell is your problem boy?!" he snapped as he turned to Sam. His real personality was on full display now and he was every bit as hateful as Rahne had imagined he'd be. Sam didn't know anything about Tabitha's life before the institute, he'd only known her about two months, but he knew she didn't get along with parents. Now that he met her father it was easy to see why, he was short, ugly and bad tempered, it was almost impossible to believe Tabitha could be related to someone so pathetic. If this guy thought he was going to intimidate Sam Guthrie, he was sadly mistaken, one look in his eyes and Sam knew he was a coward, he'd seen his kind before and he hated guys like him.

"Ya try t' put yer hands on her again and you'll find out." he said coldly as Martin Smith took a step back. "You damn well better back up." Sam hissed. It was obvious from her father's attitude and from what she'd said about no contact with her that he must have abused her and Sam wanted to beat the hell out of him. Rahne was having similar thoughts, but she reached over and put her hand on Sam's arm, she could sense his anger and while she shared his contempt for the man, it would be better if this confrontation ended peacefully.

"I don't have anything for you! Get out and leave me alone! I never want to see you again!" Tabitha yelled. She was ashamed of her father and ashamed of her past, she didn't want anyone to find out what she'd done or where she'd come from, especially not Sam and Rahne. They both treated her with respect and dignity and she didn't want them to know the truth about how he'd forced her to use her powers to help him steal and she didn't want to have to admit she was white-trash from a trailer park.

"So now you think you're too good for me?!" her dad yelled. "You're a thief! You're nothin but a white-trash whore just like your mom and..." He never got a chance to finish as Sam slammed his fist into his face and started beating him mercilessly. Rahne let him go for a few moments before she pulled him away, she abhorred violence but knew it was sometimes necessary, especially in this case. This horrible man reminded her of her own father, who she loathed, and she felt terrible that he'd said that to Tabitha in front of the others. They'd heard them yelling at each other and had arrived just in time to hear everything. It was obvious from the look on Tabitha's face that she was beyond humiliated, she was completely destroyed. Tabitha broke down crying and pushed her way past the others, followed by Rahne and Sam. The X-Men and other students were shocked, Tabitha always seemed so happy and cheerful; they never would have guessed she had such a horrible life before she came to live with them.

Logan grabbed Martin Smith and dragged him, beaten and bloody, to the front door to throw him out. Logan hurled him down in the driveway and stood over him like an animal about to go in for the kill. "You piece of shit!" he yelled as he kicked him as hard as he could. "You think you're tough beating up little girls?! Let's see how big your balls are now!" Martin rolled over and vomited from the force of the blow, if he got out of this alive, there was no way he was ever coming back to this place.

Logan walked over and put his boot on his throat. "Now you listen to me and you listen good, you're gonna get up and you're gonna get outta here and you're never gonna hurt her again, or they won't find your body...I promise you that Bub." he said as his claws burst out. Martin Smith forced himself to his feet and scramble to his truck, desperate to escape another savage beating.

"Asshole." he muttered as he watched him drive away. _'Poor kid, she didn't deserve this...'_ Logan thought as he turned and walked back to the house. Tabitha could be a nuisance sometimes, blowing off training, sneaking out and he hated it when she called him "badger" but he'd seen enough to know she was a good kid despite all the clowning around she did.

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile<strong>

"Tabitha! Wait!" Sam pleaded as he and Rahne followed her upstairs. They'd only been going out for a short time, but he really wanted their relationship to become serious. He knew Tabitha had her faults and was obviously running from her past, it didn't take a genius to figure that out, but he didn't care. He didn't believe anything her father had said about her, but even if it was all true, he still didn't care, he respected Tabitha because she hadn't allowed herself to give in to anger or self pity. He respected her because she didn't take things for granted like a lot of the others did; she was one of the few students who didn't rely completely on the professor's generosity.

"Leave me alone Sam...please just go away..." Tabitha sobbed as she headed for her room.

"Ah don't care if everything he said is true! It doesn't matter to me, but you do!" he said in utter desperation.

"Leave me alone!" she cried as she slammed the door and locked it.

"Damn it..." he cursed as he turned around and leaned against her door. Rahne came to his side and listened at the door for a moment. She still had the senses of a wolf even in her normal form and there was very little that escaped her notice.

"Let her be..." Rahne sighed as she heard Tabitha sobbing. "I'll come back later when she's calmed down." she said as they walked back down the hall to Sam's room. Sam had split the skin on his knuckles punching Tabitha's father and Rahne cleaned his wound and bandaged his hand before they both sat down on his bed to talk.

"Is she mad at me because Ah hit him?" Sam asked as kicked off his boots and lay back on his bed.

"She's nae mad at ye." Rahne said as she tossed her shoes beside his bed and sat there facing him. "She's humiliated...worse than tha' really...and I know jus' how she feels." She sighed. She knew Tabitha had family problems and she'd been trying to talk to her about it, but Tabitha had been avoiding the subject. Rahne knew she should have been more direct and forthcoming about her own past and she felt like she'd failed Tabitha.

"**_He_** beat ya too?!" Sam asked. This day was turning into nightmare, he just found out _both_ his friend and his girlfriend had been abused and treated like garbage and there was nothing he could really do to make it any better. He didn't know what to say to either of them, he came from a big family that loved each other, what did he know about what they were going through?

"Aye….he did….." Rahne said, as a thousand horrible memories flooded back to her. "Tha's why ye ha' tae let me be th' first one tae talk tae her...I know wha' she's feeling, be glad ye ne'er will." she added.

"Ah am." he said as he reached over and held Rahne's hand. She'd told them Reverend Craig treated her badly, she could be moody sometimes and she had emotional outbursts now and then, but Sam hadn't wanted to believe anyone could beat someone like Rahne. She was so sweet and innocent and it really hurt him to know she'd been abused and treated so horribly. He was absolutely sick over what had happened to Tabitha and he couldn't get the image of her beaten, bruised, lonely, unloved and crying in pain and fear out of his mind. It was sickening and he was glad Rahne was there to talk with him and help him deal with it; this level of cruelty was completely alien to him.

They must have talked for an hour before Rahne finally got up and went to check on her roommate. She didn't get any answer when she knocked and she could tell there was no one in the room even though the door was still locked, it smelled like the window was open, she could smell grass and pollen. A horrible thought flashed through Rahne's mind and she kicked the door open, ran to the window and jumped out.

* * *

><p>"Where are ye goin?!" Rahne asked as she caught up to Tabitha at the edge of the woods. Tabitha dropped her backpack off her shoulder, sat down and began to cry.<p>

"Away Rahne…..I don't know, but I can't stay here….everything he said is true…..I'm a thief, I'm white-trash….I'm damn sure not X-Men material and Sam's not gonna want someone like me…." She cried. Rahne fought the urge to slap her, she was being ridiculous, but she knew she was so emotionally destroyed that she couldn't help it. "I don't matter Rahne…." Tabitha said. "My own mother told me I was an accident…."

"Yui're nae an accident! Yuir life is nae a mistake Tabby! Ye were born fer a purpose! Jesus died tae save ye from hell and he loves ye ne matter wha' ye've done. Ye matter tae God and ye matter tae me! Yui're muh friend and I love ye!" Rahne cried.

"What do you want with a friend like me?" Tabitha asked, trying not to cry. Her life was a total train wreck and nobody ever stayed close to her long, but one look in Rahne's eyes told her she was dead serious. She'd always been there for her and Tabitha realized she _really_ did care about her; she was the first _real_ friend she'd ever had.

"Yui're th only one who understands me..." Rahne whispered. "Muh father hurt me tae..."

"I'm sorry...oh God, I'm sorry...all this time you've been trying to help me, but I wouldn't listen...I've been so selfish..." she said, realizing how deeply Rahne was suffering.

"Ye were jus' lost and hurt...I know, I've been there." Rahne said as she put her arm around her. Tabitha was so touched by Rahne's love and concern for her that she started to cry herself. "Let it out Tabby...I know ye dinnae want tae, but its jus' th two of us and I know how much it hurts..." Tabitha had given up on God a long time ago and had tried to pretend she didn't believe, but Rahne's sincerity and her genuine love and compassion for her moved Tabitha in a way nothing else in her life ever had and she opened her heart to the truth. The truth that she wasn't an accident, that God didn't make mistakes and that her life did have meaning and she'd never be alone again. She had to face the truth; it was obvious that she was only hurting herself with her rebellious behavior; her parents didn't care and they never had. She didn't know where to even begin, she wasn't exactly a model of virtue and she'd always thought of Christians as a bunch of pompous hypocrites, but she couldn't deny what she was feeling. God loved her, he was calling her and she couldn't ignore it, she knew it was time to give her life to him and stop destroying herself.

Tabitha finally broke down and told Rahne about her dad, about his drinking and criminal record, and how badly he'd beaten her when her powers manifested, and every other time she'd made him angry. About how he'd forced her to help him steal by using her powers, about how he'd finally gotten arrested and about how her step mother had rejected her and she'd lived on the street, about how her mom had refused to take her in and abandoned her at the institute. Finally, Tabitha began to cry again, her tears had been suppressed by beatings and insults for too long and now that she had finally found someone who understood her, she couldn't pretend it didn't hurt any longer.

Rahne knew exactly how Tabitha felt and she was glad she could help her new friend, she held her and tried to comfort her, but it wasn't long before she was crying as well. She had come a long way toward getting her life straightened out since Moira had saved her, but she still carried emotional scars from her past life and she knew she always would. Rahne also told Tabitha about her life, about how her mother had died when she was four. She told her about how Reverend Craig, who she later discovered was her father, had taken her in and abused her for years before she finally became desperate enough to run away one night when she was nine. It was a miracle she'd survived the freezing night on the moor to be found by Moira MacTaggert the next morning. Craig had been arrested and exposed as the monster he really was, but justice had come too late as it often does.

It took years to undo the damage he did to her; she was so shy and insecure and so utterly convinced she was worthless and evil when she first came to live with her, that Moira wondered if she'd ever be able to have a normal life. Reverend Craig had raised her to be extremely intolerant and judgmental and filled her head with all kinds of blasphemous lies. Reverend MacLaren, who'd come to replace Craig was horrified by what had happened to Rahne and he devoted himself to leading her back to Christ and teaching her the truth. With Moira's love and his guidance, she'd come to truly understand God's word and had left all the lies behind for the most part. Rahne was now a strong and dedicated Christian, who tried to love everyone, but she wouldn't compromise her beliefs to be accepted and she wasn't afraid to stand up for herself or her faith. Rahne had beaten her father; she could have become just like him, but she'd become better than him in every way.

"Let's go home." Rahne said as she dried her eyes and helped Tabitha to her feet.

'_I don't deserve a friend as good as you.'_ Tabitha thought as they walked back to the house. Rahne had been so frantic to find her she hadn't even stopped to put her shoes on. Tabitha felt horribly ashamed that she'd tried to run away from her problems and her family. Rahne was always looking out for her, but she'd just treated her cruelly and she didn't feel like she deserved Rahne's love and forgiveness. Still, Rahne always seemed to be able to speak to her with such wisdom and love that she felt better until she saw Sam coming to meet them. She'd hoped to get back before he knew what she'd done, but now he knew how thoughtless she'd been.

"I'm sorry Sam…..I'm so sorry…" Tabitha said as he took her in his arms and held her close. Rahne took Tabitha's backpack and left them to talk things over. "It's true…..I was a thief and I'm white-trash from a trailer park…."

"Yer're not and I don't ever want t' hear ya say that about yerself again." He said emphatically. "Listen, Ah know we've only been together a little while, but Ah can see how special ya really are. Anybody else would be bitter and selfish, but yer're always tryin to help th others and make 'em happy...even though yer're hurtin so bad inside." Sam said as they walked back toward the house. "Tabitha, Ah wanna be a part of yer life if you'll still have me, but ya don't have t' hide things like this from me...Ah love ya fer who ya are, Ah don't care what ya did or who ya used to be." Sam said. He knew she'd probably had to do a lot of things she wasn't proud of, but all that matter to him was the person she'd become. He'd never felt like this about anyone and he'd been through enough to know what love really was and what it really meant. He wasn't so naive as to think he was doing her any kind of favor and he damn sure wasn't attracted to her because he felt sorry for her and thought she needed protecting. He _did_want to protect her, that was just the kind of man he was, but he was attracted to her strength, her independence and her character, he just hoped she felt something_real_ for him.

"You're sure about this? ...you don't really know me Sam..." Tabitha said, trying to control her emotions. She was so thankful to have found someone as kind, loving and patient as Sam, for a long time she didn't think men like him really existed and after what her father had said, she still couldn't quite believe he'd want anything to do with her. His family wasn't well off, but they were decent and hardworking; they had nothing in common with her awful, dysfunctional family of criminals and drunks.

"Ah know enough." he said emphatically as he reached over and took her hand. "Ah know Ah can't get ma mind off ya, Ah know Ah'm a better man when Ah'm around ya...and Ah know Ah felt th same way Ah did when ma dad died when Ah realized you were gone." he told her as he looked into her eyes. She had the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen and he could see how sad and beaten down she was, but there was still a spark of hope and defiance in them. Sam wished he could wipe away all the pain and misery of Tabitha's abusive childhood, but he knew that was impossible, all he could do was treat her with the respect and dignity she deserved and he was going to love her and stand by her no matter what she was going through.

"I love you Sam...and I promise there won't be anymore secrets between us." she said as he held her in his arms and the tears started to run down her cheeks again. "I'm not as good as you think I am." she whispered. "...I **_am_** selfish and..."

"Ah _know,_ yer're not perfect and it should be obvious by now that Ah'm not either." he said as he stopped her. "This is gonna be hard sometimes and a lotta work fer both of us, but yer're worth it." he said as he kissed her. They'd kissed before, but never like this and she knew how much he loved her and how much she loved him.

"You're worth it too." she told him as they continued to hold each other. Sam offered a silent prayer of thanks as he tried to comfort her, she loved him and he couldn't ask for more than the wisdom to be the man she needed him to be. He promised her he'd never yell at her, hit her, insult her or even be too busy to spend time with her as they committed to each other.

* * *

><p><strong>The Present<strong>

Danielle understood now why Tabitha cared so deeply for Rahne and she was ashamed she'd been jealous of their friendship. She'd hurt Rahne deeply when she'd left and she knew she had no business being upset or jealous that Rahne had another best friend. She was happy that Rahne was finally free of her past and her old ways of thinking and she was grateful to Tabitha for helping her overcome her traumatic childhood.

Danielle also had to accept the fact that she hadn't been forced to leave the school; that she'd only done it because she felt so lost and confused. She could have stayed and asked her friends for help and they would have accepted her even without her powers. She knew she didn't have any right to be upset with Sam or Tabitha; they were truly in love and she should be happy for them. Tabitha was wild sometimes, but she had a good heart and Danielle was beginning to see why Sam loved her. She might not be nearly as devout as Rahne, but she was trying to live a better life and Danielle respected her for being strong and not becoming like her parents.

"Well…..that's how we got to be friends….." Tabitha said as Sam held her a little closer and they both looked at Rahne appreciatively.

"You'll never find a better one." Danielle said.

"After everything we went through…we're more than friends…..she's **_my_** sister too." Tabitha said defensively. She was jealous of Danielle and she'd picked up on her attraction to Sam as well. Tabitha trusted Sam, but she still felt insecure, Danielle was beautiful and she was a smart, capable leader as well. Tabitha's life had been filled with disappointment and heartache for so long and Sam and Rahne were the first people who ever believed in her and didn't treat her like a lost cause; they were the closest thing to family she had.

"Did I tell ye I heard from Ric th other day?" Theresa said, quickly changing the subject. Neither of them had a pleasant childhood and Theresa understood her feelings, but she didn't want things to turn ugly.

"No, how's he doin?" Sam asked.

"Nae so good….seems his family has gotten on th bad side of th cartels down there and he's havin' tae deal wit' all tha' now." She said. Richter had left because he was tired of all the fighting, but it seemed that he just couldn't escape it and he was caught up in another war. She felt better knowing he had Shatterstar with him, but she was concerned for his safety, they all were.

"I hope he's alright…." Rahne sighed.

"What happened between you two?" Danielle asked as she turned to Rahne. She'd gotten a letter from Rahne shortly before the war, telling her they had started dating and Danielle was really happy for her. Richter had always seemed like a nice guy even though he could be a little immature sometimes and Rahne seemed happy. Later, she'd learned that Rahne had broken things off before their relationship became serious, but she'd never understood why.

"I dinnae want tae talk about it." Rahne said as she reached for her beer. Danielle let it drop, she didn't want to make Rahne angry and she could see it was still a sore subject for her.

"What happened to the rest of X-Force?" Danielle asked. "Where are Tessa and Bishop?"

"They're with Cable at Providence." Sam said. "After th war, Cable discovered clan Akkaba was tryin to resurrect Apocalypse so he took Domino, Sage, Bishop, Blink and that nut Deadpool with him to stop them." He explained. "We wanted to go too, but he told me that we had to tackle the threats out there right now or it wouldn't matter if Apocalypse was reborn…."

"Losing Ric and Star was bad enough, but losing Roberto and Amara has really put us behind the eight ball." James said grimly.

"We want ye tae come and fight wit' us Dani…..we want ye on X-Force." Theresa said as everyone looked at her expectantly. Danielle suddenly felt very uncomfortable, she'd been putting this off as long as she could, telling them she'd think about it, but now she had to make a decision and they weren't going to like it.

"I don't think I'm ready…." Danielle stammered. "I just got my powers back…..I need time to readjust."

"We're not rushing you." James said reassuringly. "But we know it won't take you long to get your edge back and we could really use your help….we don't have anyone with psychic powers now that the boss is gone." He explained.

"Aye, and yui're one of us Dani….we've all missed ye so." Theresa said. "Ye willnae ha' tae go on every mission….Rahne's a teacher tae and we'll work it out wit' both of ye."

"Dani, wha's wrong?" Rahne asked, sensing her apprehension.

"They're calling you guys terrorists." Danielle said. "Part of me knows what you're doing is right, but part of me agrees with Scott and Emma that you're endangering the school by attacking Trask Industries….I don't think I'm quite cut out for this new team." She said as an awkward silence descended. Trask Industries' government contracts and status as a "legitimate" business made attacking them a far different matter than attacking Reavers, Purifiers, RIGHT, or the Sapien League and Danielle was worried X-Force might bring down the wrath of SHIELD on the school. Professor Xavier was trying to handle the matter of Trask Industries and their sentinels legally, but after the death of sixteen million people, Sam and his team weren't willing to trust the courts or the government.

"Terrorists?" Sam said after a moment, hardly believing Danielle had just said that.

"Am I drunk?" Theresa asked sarcastically. "Or is **_this_** wha' ye learned in college?"

"I know better." Danielle said defensively as even Rahne gave her a disdainful look. "But the world hates us and the school is the last safe place left for mutants. If the government ever positively identifies you guys, they could shut the whole school down and then where would all the kids go?"

"We're trying to prevent another Genosha Dani!" James said indignantly. "I'd say it's an acceptable risk."

"Everybody calm down." Sam said. "Her argument ain't without merit….its somethin I've thought about a lot." He admitted. "But complacency led to Genosha and _that_ led to th war and now Jean's dead because of it." He said emphatically. "We can't just sit on our asses and react to a crisis once its blown up all over us…..we have to be proactive now and hit them before they hit us, before they burn th school like they burned Genosha."

"What we're doing is no different from the government sending SEALS after _real_ terrorists." Tabitha said.

"Exactly, that's why we're going after Trask, the Reavers and whoever has been kidnapping kids left and right." Sam said.

"Aye, Cyclops wants th X-Men tae be a superhero team again…..tha's fine, but they cannae do wha' needs tae be done sometimes….tha's wha' X-Force is fer." Theresa said.

"Why don't ya come see fer yerself what we're about Dani?" Sam asked. "If ya don't feel comfortable after a mission or two, you can leave, no guilt, no judgment." He told her.

"Fair enough Sam." Danielle said as she reached for another beer and wondered what she'd just gotten herself into. Sam was glad Danielle was still open-minded enough to give them a chance even though he thought she probably wouldn't stay. He really needed a psychic to balance out the team and he had a back up plan just in case Danielle didn't work out. He was the leader, James was the tank, Rahne was the tracker and medic, Theresa and Tabitha could level buildings and he'd just recruited his friend Michael Holmes to be the team's psychic. The former SHIELD agent was trained in everything from demolitions to data manipulation and his "jack of all trades" skill set was a huge bonus to the team.

"Why don' ye tell them about yuir new guy?" Theresa asked as she gave James a mischievous look.

"You didn't….." he groaned as he looked at Sam.

"I did." Sam said, grinning like a jackass eating saw-briars.

"I wish I could drink." James said with mock indignation. Theresa was a recovering alcoholic and James had stopped drinking to support her. "I miss Cable too, but that doesn't mean I want his short, smart-ass clone running around." James said. He and Holmes really didn't dislike each other, but they had constantly antagonized each other on their joint missions during the war.

"Too bad, he'll be here tomorrow." Sam said.

"Who?" Danielle asked. "Who'll be here tomorrow?"

"Kill Switch." James said. "His real name is Mike Holmes…..he's a SHIELD agent, or at least he was…..he went on two missions with me and Sam back during the war." He explained.

"His names Wrath now." Sam told him.

"That sounds like a super villain." Danielle said.

"Don't get the wrong idea Dani…..he might be as mean as Wolverine in a _fight_, but he's a good guy." James said. "He's just wound too tight."

"Yer're jealous because he does th whole "grim and brooding" act better than you do." Sam said, half serious. "We wouldn't have been able to get Cable's psimatar without him, he's a good fighter and a good friend…he didn't think twice about risking his life for us."

"Yeah, I give him a hard time, but I trust him." James said.

"Why did he quit SHIELD? Did he say?" Danielle asked. She hated SHIELD because of their actions after the war in Mutant Town and she was appalled that Sam and the others were letting a former agent join.

"He told th me he wasn't fightin th battles he needed to be fightin." Sam said. "Said th Avengers and SHIELD don't really care about mutants…."

"He's got that right…" Tabitha muttered as she took a drink.

"Yeah, but th thing is…..he's not a mutant…" Sam said. "Nobody knows why he has th power he does….he doesn't have an X-gene…..every genetic test done on him comes back as baseline human."

"That's …unnatural….." Danielle said, hardly believing what she'd just heard.

"So are we." Rahne reminded her. "He's no different than we are."

"Yes he _is_ Rahne." Danielle said. "I know this sounds awful, but why would a human….or whatever he is, care so much about mutants?" she asked incredulously. "People have always hated us….they hate us even more because of Apocalypse, but he wants to fight for us?"

"Give him a break Dani." Tabitha said curtly. "Why does it matter that he's human? He's a good person and he wants to help us…..we've lost over half the team, we need all the help we can get….even if it's a _human_." Tabitha said with a hint of sarcasm. She'd gone with Sam to meet Holmes after he'd contacted them about joining and she'd been impressed with him. He reminded her of Cable and she thought he really needed to lighten up, but it was obvious he truly wanted to help them and it didn't matter to her that he wasn't a mutant.

"It's not up fer debate, Ah said he could come t' X-Force now that his tours done and he's not re-enlisting." Sam said, happy that Holmes had expressed such interest in joining his team. Richter and Shatterstar had both quit, Roberto would soon be leaving to manage X-Corp. Los Angeles office and Amara was going with him. Danielle was a fulltime instructor and Rahne had never wanted to fight in the first place, she was serving as a teaching assistant while she got her degree and neither of them would be going on many missions anymore. James, Theresa, Tabitha and Holmes would be his main team now that Cable, Domino, Bishop and Sage had left to pursue other goals.

"I'll help ye as much as I can Sam." Rahne said quietly, "But I ne're really wanted tae fight, I did it because I had tae, but now I know wha' I'm supposed tae do, I'm going tae be a teacher and help these kids th way Jean and th others helped me."

"Rahne, you were always th strongest and th bravest, ya got nothin t' prove….you kept us together when even Ah wanted to give up and you'll always have a place in X-Force." He said. "The schools gonna go public soon and we need good teachers. Ah can't think of a better one than you…..what yer're doin is every bit as important as th missions." He reminded her. "Ah know this is what ya really want….what'll make ya happy and Ah'm proud of ya, we all are." He said as they finished their beers. Danielle got up and walked outside and Rahne could see something was troubling her.

"Wha's wrong Dani?" Rahne asked as she stepped out onto the street.

"I'm alright." Danielle said, looking up into the night sky.

"We've been friends tae long." Rahne said as she put her arm around her. "Now wha's goin on?"

"I feel like I don't belong anymore." She sighed. "I've been gone too long…."

"This is still yuir home and we're still yuir family." She said, trying to comfort her. The past two years had been terrible for her, she'd lost her powers and with them her sense of identity. She'd been depressed and angry for a long time, but she was beginning to put her life back together. Xavier had convinced her to stay when she'd brought Sofia to him and Sam had offered her a place on the team once her powers were restored by her ward, Josh. Danielle had her powers and her life back, she had a purpose but the team had changed so much since she'd been away that she felt like an outsider.

"Thanks Rahne….but I feel guilty I couldn't fight with you in the war." Danielle admitted. "I lost my powers and I just forgot who I was for a while…..I ran off and left all of you behind…."

"Dinnae do this tae yuirself Danielle, I'm glad ye were nae a part of tha'….it changed all of us….and nae fer th better." Rahne told her. "I know things are different now, but I still love ye." She whispered. She'd tried to keep Danielle from leaving and she'd cried for a month after she had; she was the big sister she'd never had and it nearly killed Rahne to lose her. She'd been there to comfort her so many times when she was sad and battling the demons Reverend Craig had cursed her with, but now it was Rahne's turn to offer love and support to Danielle and she held her close and told her how special she was to her.

* * *

><p><strong>Later that Night<strong>

'_I didn't take anything from her and I won't let her take anything from me…'_ Tabitha thought as she lay there in bed. She knew it was foolish to feel so threatened by Danielle, after all, Sam loved her and he'd never do anything to hurt her and neither would Rahne. Still, they were the first people to ever treat her with respect and dignity and the thought that they might be taken away from her was the only thing that really frightened her anymore.

"I love you." Sam said as he lay down next to her and kissed her on the cheek. Tabitha rolled over facing him as he put his arm around her and snuggled next to her.

"I love you too." She said as she gently rubbed her hand across his bare chest.

"Yer're not worried about Dani coming back to th team are ya?" Sam asked.

"No."

"Good." He said as he held her a little closer. "Ah know she's been through hell these last two years, but Ah swear, Ah don't know her anymore….." he sighed. "Ah was hoping she'd be our voice to th X-Men….somebody who could walk in both worlds, but she sounded just like Scott and Emma tonight…."

"Rahne can do that." Tabitha told him.

"They don't respect Rahne." He said bluntly. "If Jean was still alive, she'd listen to her, but…..damn Ah miss Jean." He said.

"I do too" Tabitha sighed. "She wasn't_that_ much older than me, but she was the only thing close to a mother I've ever had."

"Ah don't know what's gonna happen when Xavier finally steps down." Sam said. "Ah don't think Scott will let us stay at th institute…..ah'm working out some plans with Terry, but…Ah don't know…."

"You'll make the right decision." Tabitha told him. "I'll support you…..we'll do this together." She said as she kissed him again and they settled in for the night.

* * *

><p><strong>Earth 730 Historical Context<strong>

*The battle for Genosha occurred ten years earlier and did not involve any of the New Mutants.

*Magneto took control of Genosha and built the tiny nation into a superpower.

*Genosha was destroyed three years ago by an army of Nimrod's sentinels from the future after Magneto was defeated and incarcerated by the X-Men.

*Apocalypse launched a devastating surprise attack two years ago in the aftermath of the Genoshan purge.

*Apocalypse was defeated and utterly destroyed by Cable's X-Force and his sister Rachel from an alternate timeline.

*The Original New Mutants: Sam, Danielle, Rahne, Roberto and Theresa. They were later joined by Richter, James, Illyana and finally Tabitha.

* * *

><p>Thank you for reading Issue 1! This is my first attempt at writing in a long time and I'd be interested in any feedback you'd care to give.<p> 


	2. X-Force 2: The Lost and the Fallen

The X-Force, a special operations unit formed by Charles Xavier's former students, the New Mutants, stand ready to strike at the enemies of the mutant race. Their aggressive approach to the conflict between humanity and the mutants has put them at odds with their mentor and the X-Men. However, with the mutant nation of Genosha reduced to ashes and anti-mutant hysteria raging after the war with Apocalypse, the X-Force may be the best hope for the survival of the mutants.

**Previously**

Danielle Moonstar has recently returned to the Xavier Institute after a long absence. Danielle was tortured and depowered by the Purifiers, a heretical cult dedicated to destroying mutants, several years earlier. She left behind her best friend, Rahne Sinclair and her adopted family, the New Mutants, hurting them all deeply. She recently had her powers restored by Josh Foley an Omega level healer and she has become a teacher at the institute as well as Josh's legal guardian.

Danielle is happy to be reunited with her friends, especially Rahne, but she's shocked by how much they've changed since the war. She also feels threatened by Tabitha Smith who has become Rahne's best friend during her absence as well as Sam Guthrie's girlfriend. Danielle was embarrassed by her jealousy after she learned Rahne saved Tabitha from being raped. With so many changes coming at her, Danielle felt that she didn't belong anymore until Rahne comforted her. Sam also revealed that X-Force has a new member, but he isn't a mutant, leading Danielle to wonder why he's joining.

This Issue:

X-Force: Cannonball, Boomer, Mirage, Wrath, Wolfsbane

X-Men: Wolverine, Dr. Nemesis, Forge

Students: Surge, Hellion, Elixir, Mercury, X-23

* * *

><p><strong>X-Force # 2: The Lost and the Fallen<strong>

**Xavier Institute – Westchester New York**

"Go look for a handout somewhere else….I don't have any change." Julian said bluntly to the Asian girl standing on the other side of the institute's main gate. He'd been out for a run and had come upon this blue haired girl in dirty, tattered clothes looking forlornly at the locked gate, defaced by anti-mutant graffiti. She was filthy, he could smell her from where he was standing and he didn't want to have anything to do with her.

"But…."

"This isn't the Salvation Army." he snapped as he turned and walked back up the driveway toward the mansion. The poor girl turned and started to walk back toward town as she began to cry. She'd thought the Xavier Institute was supposed to be a safe place for people like her, but they didn't want her either. _'What am I supposed to do now? I can't keep living like this….'_She thought. Strong as she was, she'd hit rock-bottom and she felt like giving up, she didn't know what to do or where to go now. Her family had disowned her, she was homeless, hungry and no one cared about her at all. She looked up and saw an orange Boss 302 Mustang coming toward her so she walked to the side of the driveway to let it pass, but it slowed down and stopped.

'_What now?'_ she thought as the driver got out and walked toward her. He looked to be in his mid-twenties and he was wearing cargo shorts, athletic shoes and a t-shirt. She started to get a little nervous, he looked pretty intimidating, he was only 5'9" but he was 172lbs of pure muscle and his shirt did little to conceal that. He had a scar over his left eye that ran down his forehead, through his eyebrow and onto his cheek. That, combined with his military haircut and dark, piercing eyes gave him an ominous appearance that made her uneasy.

"Ya need help?" he asked in a very deep voice, with a very heavy southern accent. She took a step back; life on the street had taught her not to trust anyone, especially not some guy offering to "help" her.

"Back off or you can ride the lightning." She said coldly as he eyes began to glow blue.

"Whoa, it's alright…." He said. "I'm not some pervert, I'm with...th X-Men….what else would I be doin here?" He asked, trying to reassure her. He could sense her fear and anxiety with his telepathy, but it was obvious she was tough and resourceful as well and she'd fight if she had to.

"Where are you goin?" He asked. "This is a safe palace fer mutants."

"No, it's not." She said, wiping her eyes. "That jerk at the gate said they don't want people like me…." She said, indicating her filthy clothes and matted, dirty hair.

"Whoever that was, he doesn't speak fer th institute." He told her. "They won't turn ya away…..I'm not even a mutant, but they accepted me."

"You're…normal?" she asked, completely shocked.

"No….I'm different…th thing is, nobody knows what I am." He said. "I've got powers, but I don't have th X-gene, I'm not a science freak or an inhuman…I'm just weird." He explained. "But Cannonball doesn't hold that against me and I'm a part of his team now…look, if they'll let somebody like _me_ in, you've got nothing to worry about…..come on, its ma first day too…..we can do this together."

"What's your name?" She asked him, feeling much more confident of his intentions.

"Mike Holmes." he told her. "What's yers?"

"Noriko Ashida." She answered. Holmes was really impressed by how well she spoke English and he wondered how long she'd been living in America. She might be homeless, unloved and in a dark place emotionally, but there was a certain strength about her still and Holmes respected that.

"You said you had powers?" she asked. He looked really strong, but there was nothing out of the ordinary about his appearance and she was still trying to understand how he could have powers without an X-gene or some form of artificial genetic manipulation.

"Mine are kind of boring….I've got _some_ telepathic power, but I'm nothing special….low level super strength, speed, agility, durability, senses, healing…..standard _"super hero"_ package." He said, making sarcastic finger quotes in the air.

"You can read my mind?!" she asked nervously.

"If I wanted to….but I'm not like that." He said, trying to reassure her. He didn't blame her for being frightened, he wasn't comfortable around telepaths either even though he was immune to psychic mind probes. "How 'bout you? What can you do?" he asked her.

"I shoot electricity…." Noriko said as he opened the door for her. Noriko was getting in when a bottle of pills fell out of a hole in her tattered backpack and rolled up against Holmes shoe. The look of pure horror on her face told him all he needed to know about them as he picked them up. Noriko was devastated, there was no way he was going to understand her situation, he wasn't a mutant, how could he? Those pills were the only thing keeping her powers under control, but she was certain he'd think she was a drug addict and the tears began to well up her eyes again.

"Ya can't control it can ya?" he asked quietly. She shook her head and looked down at her shoes, deeply embarrassed. "Its alright…..th professor can help ya." He said trying to comfort her. "These things aren't good fer ya Noriko…..they might seem like they're helping, but they'll give ya cancer." He said as he looked at the bottle of pills she'd dropped. He hated to see anyone in Noriko's situation and he really hated to see her cry; she was about the same age as his sister and it was breaking his heart. There was no way he would ever turn his back on her, but that's obviously what she'd thought was going to happen. He could sense her desperation, shame and fear and he really felt terrible for her.

"I don't have a choice!" She yelled. "I'm dangerous! I hurt people!" she snapped, getting angry. "You don't know what it s like! How awful it is to be a mutant…..to not be able to control your powers!"

"I'm not judging you…and I know more than you think." He said firmly. "Now come on." He said as he put her pack in the back with his duffel bags. "Let's get ya some_real_ help." Noriko decided to trust him, he seemed to be genuinely concerned for her and he had to be telling the truth.

"I'm sorry….I know I stink…..I can't stand it either, but I can't bathe, I'd electrocute myself." She said as he got in and rolled down the windows. She was so humiliated that he just couldn't help but feel sorry for her even though he could tell this girl wasn't a victim, she was tough.

"Hey, don't worry about it…..when I was fighting Apocalypse, I couldn't bathe fer months….yer're not half as nasty as I was." He said, trying to make her feel better. It was so bad he almost gagged, but after all he'd been through he could take it.

"You were in the war?" She asked. "How old are you?"

"I'm twenty three….I served with SHIELD fighting his army and his horsemen in th ruins…I don't want to talk about it." He told her. They pulled up to the gate and Holmes reached out and hit the call button on the security console. _"Who is it?"_ a gruff voice asked.

"Open th damn gate Logan." Holmes said. "Cannonballs expecting me." He was definitely not looking forward to being under the same roof as Wolverine, but at least they were on separate teams and hopefully they could avoid each other.

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile<strong>

"Did he get lost?" Tabitha asked as she joined Sam, Danielle and Rahne on the front steps of the institute. Holmes should be here by now and she and Sam had plans for the afternoon, she didn't want to be waiting all day. It was so hard for them to get a quite moment together anymore between his duties as leader, her classes, their training and missions.

"He's coming." Sam reassured her.

"Hey Rahne….I know this guy has some issues, but give him a chance ok?" Tabitha asked. "He's almost as hot as Sam and I think he's Presbyterian too….ya'll might be really happy together."

"Maybe…." Rahne said, blushing slightly. She had to admit she was interested, but she was still a little shy around men and she was afraid he would think she was too young. Rahne tried to be optimistic like Tabitha, but it seemed like guys were always finding reasons_not_ to go out with her or stick around once they did.

"Be careful furtop…super hero relationships almost never work out." Danielle said glumly, regretting her numerous broken relationships.

"_We_ make it work out." Sam said emphatically, putting her arm around Tabitha. He'd turned down a place on the main X-Men team to stay on the X-Force with her and he'd made it clear their relationship came first.

"Where are Terry and James?" Danielle asked after a moment. She hadn't seen them all morning and she'd gotten up early; she couldn't understand why they weren't here to meet their new teammate.

"Terry's dad came to New York for a case a few days ago…..Jimmy took her to see him." Sam explained. "He's gonna be leaving tomorrow."

"Are they getting along any better?" She asked.

"A little bit…..yeah." Sam said. He loved his father and he missed him everyday, he felt terrible that Theresa's father had ruined their relationship with alcoholism. Danielle was happy to hear that, they'd all lost one or both parents at a young age and it made her feel good to know that Theresa and her father were making progress.

"Mikes here." Tabitha said as she saw his car coming down the driveway.

"I like th car." Rahne said as Holmes and Noriko pulled up and parked in the driveway. It was the same color as her bike, so of course she liked it and it looked like it had some special work done to it as well. Danielle still couldn't get used to seeing Rahne on that motorcycle, she'd never expressed any interest in them before, but she clearly loved it. She was finally seeing the real Rahne Sinclair and while it was still a bit of a shock for her, she was so happy for her friend.

"Hey Mike, it's been a while." Sam said as he, Tabitha, Danielle and Rahne walked up to greet Holmes and his guest.

"Yeah, it has Sam." Holmes said as he shook hands with him. "Thanks fer giving me a chance….I'm ready to make a difference again." He was glad to see a familiar face and he was glad Sam had agreed to let him join his team, he had the utmost respect for X-Force for finishing Apocalypse and saving the world.

"Do you prefer Michael or Mike?" Danielle asked as she greeted him.

"Ya'll can call me "Holmes"….I been in SHIELD so long I've almost forgotten what ma first name is anyway." He said.

"You've met Tabitha and these are ma best friends Rahne and Danielle…..who's this you've brought with ya?" Sam asked as he noticed Noriko standing beside his car looking really uncomfortable_. 'Just like Holmes….he hasn't changed at all.'_ Sam thought. He could be hard as nails when he had to be, but under that hard-ass facade was a good heart and he was always trying to help kids in Noriko's situation.

"This is ma friend Norkio…..she needs a place to stay and she needs help with her powers." Holmes said as he motioned for her to join them. Tabitha took one look at the scared, dirty, homeless girl and her heart broke for her as she remembered her own life on the streets.

"I know what you're going through." She said as she walked over to Noriko. "My dad used to beat the hell out of me, so I ran away and lived on the streets….I thought my life was over and that no one would ever love me, but this place and these people changed my life." Noriko looked into Tabitha's eyes and knew she was telling the truth and she was so happy to finally have a home and people who cared about her again.

"Thank ye fer bringing her here." Rahne said as she looked at Holmes admiringly. He really seemed like a nice guy, helping Noriko the way he had, and she had to admit she liked his voice and thought he was pretty good-looking as well.

"She's been takin mutie chill-pills Rahne." Holmes said, handing her the bottle he'd taken from Noriko. "She said her powers are outta control….must be how she ended up on th street."

"Och….these bloody things will kill her." Rahne said examining the bottle.

"Yeah….I know, but she probably hasn't been on them long enough t' do permanent damage." He said. "I don't think she's eaten anything in a day or two, can you and Tabitha feed her and see if Beast can help her?" He asked. "And give her a bath too….." he added.

"Dinnae worry about yuir friend…..we'll take care of her." Rahne said. Holmes noticed the cross she was wearing and he felt better knowing he was leaving Noriko in the care of a good Christian girl like Rahne. He was also attracted to the beautiful, well endowed little redhead and he hoped to get to know her better.

"It's that jerk…." Noriko said as Josh and Julian walked down the steps and headed out to the garage. She started to confront him, but Holmes beat her to it. It was like someone had flipped a switch and his demeanor changed instantly.

"Hey smart-ass!" Holmes snapped. "You owe ma friend an apology!" he growled as Julian and Josh turned and looked at him. They were both startled, Josh had no idea what was going on and Julian was shocked to see the blue haired Asian girl he'd been rude to with X-Force and this burly new guy.

"What the hell Mike?!" Danielle exclaimed. "You need to explain yourself." She said sternly

"This arrogant punk told Noriko she wasn't welcome." Holmes hissed. "But I'm sure it was all a big _misunderstanding_ and he was just about to apologize." He said sarcastically.

"I don't know what you're talking about…." Julian stammered as Holmes gave him a disdainful look.

"Liar." Rahne said. Her senses were so acute, even in her natural form, that it was impossible to lie to her. She was disgusted by Julian's arrogance and she was glad Holmes had come by when he did or poor Noriko would still be on the street. She and most of her friends had come from broken homes and poverty and they didn't take anything for granted the way Julian did.

"Tell her you're sorry and get your butt back in the house, you're not going anywhere except the professor's office." Danielle ordered. As a teacher _and_a member of X-Force, she commanded the respect of the new students and even Julian wasn't arrogant enough to defy her.

"I'm sorry….I shouldn't have been rude to you." Julian said. He was absolutely mortified and Noriko took pleasure in his humiliation, now he understood how awful she felt. Danielle excused herself and marched him back inside to see the professor. She was furious with Julian for treating Noriko so disrespectfully and she wasn't really thrilled with the way Holmes had handled the situation either. She'd thought he was handsome, caring and thoughtful at first, but she wasn't impressed by the tough-guy attitude he'd displayed confronting Julian.

* * *

><p><strong>Later<strong>

Sam had given Holmes a tour of the institute; they'd had lunch and talked about his position on X-Force. Holmes was an excellent fighter, he was strong and almost as agile as Spiderman; he was a skilled marksman as well, but his telepathic powers were his main contribution to the team, ideal of interrogation, covert missions and his psychic immunity made him perfect for confronting telepaths. His special operations training from SHIELD was a huge advantage to the team as well, he was cross trained in multiple skill sets, from demolitions to data manipulation and while he might not be the strongest fighter or a master of any one discipline he could quickly adapt to any mission. The X-Men were a shield for the mutant race, but X-Force was a sword, seeking out enemies and destroying them before their evil plans could be realized. Sam now had a deadly new weapon in his arsenal; the fact that Holmes passed for human was a huge advantage, he could infiltrate the Reavers, Trask Industries or any of the other anit-mutant organizations X-Force was sworn to destroy.

He was thoroughly impressed by the briefing Sam gave him on his teammates and he was proud to be able to serve on such an incredible team. He knew Sam, a.k.a Cannonball was a powerful fighter and nearly indestructible, but his ability to lead, plan and improvise was amazing. Tabitha's plasma powers were devastating and she had been trained by Sage, so she was skilled in hacking and data manipulation as well. "Boomer" might be impulsive and the clown of the group, but she was not to be taken lightly and she had Holmes' respect. Theresa, a.k.a Siryn was a capable leader as well; fully able to lead a squad if the team was spilt and her sonic screams could level buildings and foes alike. James, a.k.a Warpath was a tank, almost unstoppable with strength that made even Hulk take notice. His tracking abilities were second only to Rahne's and his survival training had saved the team on several occasions. Danielle and Rahne had incredible gifts as well and Holmes was fascinated by Danielle's ability to generate psionic plasma and shape it into weapons. "Mirage's" fear conjuring telepathy and astral projection made her quite a formidable opponent as well. Rahne a.k.a. Wolfsbane might be small, but she was a terrifying opponent with superhuman strength, razor-sharp claws as well as superhuman agility and healing. Rahne was the best tracker on the team, but she'd also been trained in emergency medicine by her mother, Dr. Moira MacTaggert and she'd saved both Amara and James' lives during the war.

"Strike first, strike hard and leave no traces" Sam said as he explained the team's mission to Holmes. "Just like th old days, except now its racists, terrorists and "legitimate" business instead of a time travelin tyrant."

"Legitimate ma ass." Holmes snorted as Sam called up the files on Trask Industries on the briefing room's view screen. "I thought they were done after Genosha, but everything got swept under th rug and I don't believe fer one minute they destroyed th Nimrod prototypes or their research on them."

"Neither do Ah." Sam said grimly. "Those things burned Genosha to th ground and murdered sixteen million people….but Trask gets a pass because they were mutants…"

"Sam…I'm sorry….they knew what was happening, but they didn't activate us till it was too late." Holmes said. He'd never been so ashamed and disgusted in his life as he was that day and he still felt guilty even though he hadn't learned of the attack until hours after it began. Genosha had been a threat under Magneto's rule, there was no denying that fact, but after his defeat and imprisonment the country had been in the grip of civil unrest and the once mighty Genoshan army was struggling just to keep order. Nimrod's plan was masterfully executed, he'd chosen the perfect moment to strike and as he predicted, the human race did practically nothing to prevent the genocide.

"You don't have anything to apologize fer Mike." Sam said emphatically. "Ya might not be a mutant, but yer not one of _them_ either." He said. Holmes didn't care, he was a SHIELD agent and SHIELD should have saved those civilians; the whole human race was guilty of their blood; him included. He was still haunted by what he'd seen on that island; it was like hell itself, putrid black smoke from the fires blocked out the sun and mixed with the stench of death. There were bodies everywhere, burned, mangled bodies everywhere you looked. He'd killed Nazi's and fought demons from hell, but this was so horrible he wished he'd never been born to see it; the sight of those dead kids, their faces twisted in fear and agony, it still kept him up some nights all these years later. Faced with such an unimaginable horror, he'd actually started to question his faith, but in his heart he knew that God hadn't allowed this to happen, people had and he began to question the government, SHIELD, himself and humanity in general.

"No….and I'll be damned if I let 'em get away with it." He said angrily. _'Everything that's happened since then is their fault…..the purge was the perfect excuse for Apocalypse to attack….it was great for recruiting too.'_ He thought. Mutants had flocked to Apocalypse when he'd first appeared; sixteen million people had just been murdered and the tyrant seemed like an answer to their prayers for deliverance. Unfortunately, he was anything but and both humans and mutants had suffered horribly for months before he was finally destroyed by Cable and his X-Force.

"Mike….I'm not sure I still believe th professor's dream is possible, but it's still worth fightin fer…..we can't be complacent like we have been, but we can't be like Magneto either." Sam told him. He was still so angry that it was hard to keep his focus sometimes, but he knew the best way to honor Jean's memory was to help build the kind of world she wanted, a world safe for everyone.

"I know…..I feel th same way and I won't do anything to start a war…I'm here to stop one." Holmes said. "I want those kids and ma little sister to have a better life than we've had."

"I knew we could trust ya." Sam said. "Listen, I know yer're used t' being in charge of yer own squad, so takin orders from me and Terry might take a little time to get used to, but I want ya to know how much we appreciate what yer're doin fer us."

"Ya'll don't ever have t' tell me thank you." Holmes said. "And I got no problem takin orders….certainly not from you." He added. Sam might be a little younger than he was, but Holmes had seen him in action first hand and he respected him. Cable had trained them all well, but it was Sam's vision and strength that had shaped X-Force and its mission in the aftermath of the war. X-Force was more than capable of assisting with a cosmic level threat, but their primary focus was keeping mutants safe and that meant tackling street level vermin as well as the heavy hitters. Sam was excellent at prioritizing their missions and Theresa helped with the planning and execution. Holmes hadn't met her yet, but if Sam trusted her then she had his respect as well.

"Save th tough-guy crap fer th Danger Room." Sam said. "I know what ya gave up to come here….I'm sorry yer dad can't respect yer decision…..I'd give anything fer one more day with ma dad and I hate this has come between ya'll." He said.

"I'm sorry." Holmes sighed. Sam had been the same way for a while during the conflict, but he had Tabitha to lean on for strength and comfort and Holmes didn't have anyone. The Genoshan Purge, the war with Apocalypse and the year he'd spend policing the ruins of New York during the reconstruction had really taken their toll. He hadn't had any reprieve from the horror unlike Sam and the others and he was having a hard time readjusting to normal life. Conflict and carnage were normal; peace and comfort still seemed a little strange to him, but he was in a better place and Sam knew he could help him.

"Its ok, I've been there too." He said. "Now, come on, I've got a creepy mad scientist and an insane engineer I want ya t' meet." He said as he and Holmes headed down to the labs to meet Dr. Nemesis and Forge.

* * *

><p><strong>The Lab<strong>

"Ah, Sam finally!" Dr. Nemesis said as he spun around in his chair and jumped up to greet them. He'd been studying Holmes' files he'd _"obtained"_ from SHIELD all morning and he couldn't wait to examine him in person. Holmes was a little taken aback by Dr. Nemesis, he was wearing a fancy white suit, gloves, a surgical mask and he really did seem like a mad scientist. "I've been studying our friend's files all morning…. superhuman strength, reflexes _and_ durability….really quite remarkable. A healing factor, heightened senses and night-vision….its as if someone tried to design the perfect predator, especially when we consider his telepathy and psychic resistance...even if they are limited." Nemeis said as he stared at him intently.

"Sounds a lot like M to me doc." Sam said. "Just without th attitude." He added.

"Yes….thank the creator the similarities end there." Nemeis agreed. "He scored quite high on his IQ test as well, but sadly I don't hold out much hope for these engineering types….**_so_******unimaginative." He said, casting a glance at Forge. Holmes was too amused by Dr. Nemesis at this point to take that personally, he reminded him a little of Q from Star Trek with his ranting and mannerisms.

"I won't deny I'm quite eager for a challenge worthy of my considerable powers, but I hope to provide you with some peace of mind as well." Dr. Nemesis said as he escorted Holmes and Sam through his lab to his examining room. Holmes was grateful, even if Dr. Nemesis was a creepy nerd, he obviously meant well, he was brilliant and his radical ideas and theories just might help him determine his origins.

"Thanks doc…..so, do ya need a new blood sample or something?" Holmes asked, staring into the room at the bewildering array of machines and tools. He thought he was pretty smart, but he had no idea what half of them were for and he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Oh no! Nothing so crude as that." Dr. Nemesis said waving off the question like he was shooing flies. "Strip naked and get in the scanner." He ordered._'Oh lord….its basic training all over again…'_ Holmes thought as he started to undress _'well, at least there's not forty-nine other naked guys in here…'_ he thought, remembering back to his days in SHIELD. The guy behind him had a reaction to the shots they were all getting and he'd thrown up all over him; the perfect beginning to a_really_ rotten day.

"I'll leave ya'll to it." Sam said as he turned to leave. "Oh and doc, remember, I need _this_ _one_ back in one piece." He joked as Holmes gave them both a look.

"He's gonna need some new gear Forge….think you can fix him up after ya help th new girl?" Sam asked as he stepped out of Dr. Nemesis' examining room.

"Not a problem Sam, I'm almost done with Danielle's X-Force uniform and I'll take care of Holmes just as soon as I'm done with Noriko's capacitors." Forge said as he worked.

"AHHHHHH! Doc! What th hell?!" Holmes yelled.

"Sorry! Few bugs to work out yet…" Nemesis said in a distracted tone.

"You know he's insane right?" Forge asked as Sam looked back toward the door.

* * *

><p><strong>Two Hours Later<strong>

'_What the hell have I gotten myself into?!'_ Holmes thought as stepped off the elevator onto the first floor of the institute. _'I've been here two hours and I'm already taking it in the ass….literally. Damn quack and his "scanner"…I ought to go punch Sam in the mouth.'_ he fumed. He'd just spent the last two hours being poked, prodded and examined by Dr. Nemesis; who was also unable to determine the mysterious origins of his powers. He knew Forge was far too busy trying to help poor Noriko to be bothered with his equipment needs and he had a promise to keep to a friend anyway. He was out walking through the institutes sprawling gardens when he saw two girls sitting on the bench under the oak tree. A young red-haired girl with metallic silver skin was talking with a beautiful black-haired girl with striking green eyes. She didn't seem nearly as involved in the conversation as her friend, she seemed subdued and distant.

"Laura?" Holmes asked as he walked up to the two girls. She leaped to her feet, popped her claws and growled at him as soon as she saw him and caught his scent. "Whoa! Shit! Laura, I'm not here to fight!" Holmes yelled as he and Cessily both jumped back in fright. "Nix is worried about ya! She asked me to check on ya!" he explained. She still looked like she wanted to kill him and for a moment he got ready to fight, he was having a hard time reading her emotions and he wasn't taking any chances with her this time around. He didn't want to hurt her, but he'd flatten her with a psi-blast if he had to.

"How do _you_ know Kiden?!" Laura asked suspiciously.

"We met after th war…." Holmes said as he handed Laura his phone with a picture of he and Kiden Nixon on it to prove he was telling the truth. "Ma SHIELD team was assigned to the sector she and that rag-tag family of hers were living in….people treated her like shit because she was a mutant, but I put an end to that and we became friends."

"She told me about you." Laura said after a moments thought. "I am sorry I cut you….." she sighed, looking at the scar over Holmes' eye. She'd just escaped from the Facility and the sight of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent coming at her had frightened her and she'd lashed out at him. She'd split his ballistic mask, cut his face and kicked him in the gut with her toe claw before escaping into the night, never realizing her wanted to help her. The horror of being forced to kill her mother and the trauma the Facility had inflicted on her throughout her life had been too much and she wasn't about to trust SHIELD or the Avengers.

"It's ok." Holmes said quietly as Cessily left to give them some privacy. It was clear Holmes was a friend and Laura had finally calmed down enough not to hurt him again. "You hurt me pretty bad, but I made it in alright…..I don't blame you fer what happened, it was my fault, I was incompetent."

"You were a threat." She said bluntly. "I did not want to go back….I do not want to be a weapon!"

"I know what th Facility did to you…..what they made you do….it's not yer fault and I don't blame you at all fer attacking me…but I never would have let SHIELD use you like that." He told her. He didn't know who she was at the time, he thought she was just some poor traumatized kid and he'd tried to grab her when she'd run from him. He'd realized his mistake too late when she'd popped her claws and come at him and her mind was difficult to lock onto, just like Logan's. He was damn lucky she hadn't hit an artery and if not for his training and healing factor, he would have died.

"Why do you care?" She asked incredulously. "I have done horrible things….do you know how many people I have killed?" she asked.

"Yeah, and if it had been _yer_ choice, things would be different." Holmes said grimly. "Yer're part of th reason I fight Laura…..people like you….no one should ever have to go through what you did." He told her. "I'm sorry…..I'm sorry I wasn't good enough to protect you…..everything that happened to you after that is ma fault." He sighed, remembering what Kiden had told him about her and where she'd found her. "Nix" as Holmes called her, had told him she'd found Laura drugged and being used as a prostitute by "Zebra Daddy" a notorious pimp and that she'd helped her to free herself. She'd told him that she knew something awful had happened to Laura before the war, it was obvious by the way she talked and her difficulty with emotions and relationships, but she'd been too afraid to ask. She wanted to help Laura and she was afraid she'd run off if she asked too many questions. Holmes was already well aware of Laura's past at that point and he was absolutely sick to learn what had happened to her after she'd escaped from him.

"I can't take back what happened, but I'm here to keep it from happenin to anyone again." he said. Laura had a very difficult time processing emotions and she didn't know how to react to what Holmes had just said to her for a moment. It was obvious from his scent that he felt horrible and even she could see that this guilt had been eating at him.

"I do not blame you…." Laura told him as he gave her an appreciative look. He felt better, but he was still in a dark place, unable to free himself from the awful truth of what poor Laura had endured. She was damaged, but she wasn't broken and her strength and courage to fight back and overcome her past made him even more determined to fight and ensure that this evil was never allowed to be done to another innocent child.

"Thanks...Nix was right about you." he said after a moment.

"How are Kiden and the others?" Laura asked after a moment. She was ashamed that she had been so thoughtless that she hadn't even called Kiden to let her know she'd found a home at the institute.

"They were fine the last time I saw 'em." Holmes told her. "Ya need to call her and tell her yer're ok." Holmes said as he handed her a scrap of paper with Kiden's number on it. "She really cares about ya Laura….I know she's got her problems, but she's a good person and you need to treat her better."

"I will." she said quietly. Holmes wasn't intentionally reading her mind, but he could sense her emotions more clearly now and he felt the deepest sense of shame from her as the disgusting memories of those awful men and everything they'd done to her flooded back. After Apocalypse's defeat, most of the low-level Avengers like him were assigned to SHIELD teams to help police and protect the devastated areas of New York City while the reconstruction was underway. He'd witnessed the horror of kids, many younger than Laura, being used as sex-slaves and he'd fought as hard as he could to stop it. He'd have given anything to be able to comfort her and tell her it wasn't her fault, but he didn't know what to say to her that wouldn't humiliate her.

"I know you don't need or want anything from me, but I promised Nix I'd watch out fer you…..I keep ma promises, so I'd appreciate if ya wouldn't try t' stab me again." Holmes said as she looked up at him. "Listen Laura….I know I've had a pretty easy life compared to you, but I've seen ma share of ugly and I've done some things I'm not proud of…. I know what its like to feel dead inside. You're not alone." he said as he turned and walked back toward the main building.

"I guess you must know what happened to Laura." Cessily said as met him in the garden. She was Laura's roommate and she'd been trying her best to help her after she'd learned what a horrible life she'd had. Cessily felt terrible because her parents were disgusted by her mutation, but Laura was so lost and hurt that she felt guilty about being so upset.

"Yeah." Holmes sighed.

"Will she ever be alright?" Cessily asked.

"That's ultimately up to her." Holmes told her. "But with a friend like you, I think she's got a chance." He said, sensing Cessily's concern for her friend. She was hurt and confused herself, but her compassion for Laura was truly moving and Holmes was thankful to have met Cessily. He'd seen so much pain and hatred in the world, sometimes he just wanted to give up on the whole human race, but his faith and people like this made him fight back against his own bitterness and anger.

* * *

><p><strong>Later That Evening<strong>

"Feel better now?" Rahne asked as Noriko came back from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. Dr. McCoy had managed to temporarily stabilize her powers and Forge was hard at work on capacitor gauntlets to keep her in control permanently. Rahne and Tabitha had given her a haircut and combed out all the tangles and matted spots for her. She'd been in Rahne's shower for over an hour and she was really pretty now that she was clean.

"Yeah….thanks Rahne….you and Tabby have been so nice to me….I'm sorry to be such a burden." Noriko said as she sat down on the edge of Rahne's bed. She knew she'd screwed up Holmes' first day, Tabitha's date with Sam and probably Rahne's evening too and she felt a little guilty about causing such a commotion with her powers.

"Yui're nae a burden!" Rahne told her. "Tabby and I ha' both been in really bad situations ourselves….we're happy tae be able tae help ye."

"Hey Nori, I got you some clothes!" Tabitha said as she walked in carrying an arm-load of clothes the other girls had given so Noriko would have something to wear. Tabitha had also collected some makeup and feminine products for her, even the students who weren't very well off had given something so she'd be more comfortable and it was impressive to see how generous they could be. Noriko was almost overwhelmed, the institute was everything she'd dreamed it would be and she'd already made three good friends who really cared about her. She'd just gotten dressed when Forge arrived with her gauntlets and everyone was relieved to see that they worked even better than he said they would.

"I know they're ugly Noriko, but I had to work fast…..I'll make you some better equipment next week." He said as he left her with her friends. Noriko thanked him again, she didn't care what they looked like as long as they worked. She was so glad not be lonely, hungry, dirty and homeless anymore that she was having a hard time keeping her emotions in check.

"Wow, you really are beautiful!" Danielle said as she stood in the doorway, admiring Noriko's new look. "Are you ready to meet your roommate?" she asked. Noriko nodded in agreement as she picked up her clothes and the other items and followed Danielle out. Megan Gwyyn seemed to be able to get along with anyone and she seemed like the perfect roommate for Noriko.

* * *

><p>"Well, I'm going to see if I can still salvage date night with Sam….why don't you go check on the new guy?" Tabitha said as she took Rahne's hand and pulled her up off the bed.<p>

"Tabby…..he jus' got here, I'm sure he needs some time tae himself tae settle in." Rahne said.

"Rahne….you can't afford to be shy with all these man-eaters like Dani around here." Tabitha said emphatically. "You saw the way he was looking at you and you know he must have a good heart to help Nori the way he did." She added. Rahne knew she was right and she was trying to be more outgoing and confident like Tabitha so she stopped making excuses and followed her roommate.

The new dorms and classrooms wouldn't be finished for another month, but they'd had to take in the new students and now they were all living on top of each other. It was really crowded in the west wing, where the girls lived, Tabitha and Rahne were supposed to have gotten their own rooms by now, but they'd had to give them up to accommodate the students. Tabitha loved Rahne, but they both needed some space and lately she'd been spending the night with Sam. They'd been discussing getting an apartment in town to get some space, but there were a lot of problems with that idea since Sam was the leader and needed to be at the mansion as much as possible.

"We're going out to eat tonight if you want to bring Mike." Tabitha said as Rahne stopped at Holmes door and knocked.

"Hey Rahne." Holmes said as he looked up from his books. He was trying to study for his college classes, but he'd been distracted and angry after his talk with Laura and he really wasn't getting much accomplished. He hadn't wanted company, but the sight of Rahne's beautiful smiling face took his mind away from all the awful things he'd been brooding over and he was glad she'd stopped by to see him.

"Yui're in school tae?" Rahne asked; looking at all the books and papers spread out on his desk.

"Yeah, I'm going back…..th war kinda interrupted things." He told her. "What are you studying?" he asked.

"Education and Biology." She said. Holmes was impressed, but Rahne seemed pretty smart so a double major shouldn't be too much for her.

"Wha' about ye? Is tha' engineering yui're studying?" she asked.

"Yeah, I wanna do something constructive after I'm done fighting…..if I'm ever done fighting." He told her.

"I hate fighting." Rahne admitted.

"But as long as there's kids like Laura out there, we have too." Holmes said, as Rahne nodded in silent agreement. She could tell he was as deeply affected by his experiences during the conflict as she was, but he hadn't lost sight of his reason for fighting. She'd nearly lost herself in the anger and violence as well, but she'd held on to who she was. Rahne still struggled with her anger sometimes, but she found comfort in her faith and in helping the students.

"Sam said ye were a great fighter." Rahne said.

"I get by." Holmes told her. He wasn't one to brag about or flaunt his power, but he was highly skilled. His father had enrolled him in martial arts classes when he was eight, because he bullied so badly and he'd instantly demonstrated a talent for fighting. He'd been trained by some of the best in the world since he was fourteen and now he was absolutely lethal in hand to hand combat. "I wanna believe there's more t' me than that though….I wanna help people like yer're doin." He said.

"Sam says ye helped a lot of people after th war…..tha' ye stood up fer th mutant refugees and made sure they got help tae." She told him.

"I did a lot of things I'm not proud of too." He said quietly.

"We all did, but yui're nae a bad person, most people wouldn't ha' helped Noriko, ye did." She reassured him as she sat down on the edge of his bed. She reached over and picked up his SHIELD dog-tags that were lying beside his bible on this night stand. Holmes was Methodist, not Presbyterian according to them, but that really didn't matter too much to her.

"How's she doin?" he asked, eager to change the subject. He wasn't proud of how jaded and moody he could be sometimes and he was ashamed of himself for giving in and brooding. Rahne had been fighting most of her life too and she'd been through worse than he had, but she obviously still had hope and he admired her for it.

"She's fine, her powers are under control now thanks to Forge and she's safe thanks tae ye." Rahne said with a smile. She was beautiful and he really didn't think he had a chance with her; he'd never been very outgoing, but if he'd learned anything from his time with SHIELD it was to be bold.

"There any good places to eat in town? …..I'm not a fan of tonight's menu." He asked.

"Aye….one or two spots." Rahne said. She started to get a little nervous, was he about to ask her out? _'I don't even know him…'_ she thought_. 'Well, what better way to get to know him?'_ she thought again. _'I'm not a scared little girl anymore and I'm tired of being lonely…it's not even a date, there's no reason I should be getting so nervous….'_

"Rahne?" Holmes asked. "Do you wanna come with me?" He asked, hoping he wasn't coming on too strong for her. Rahne looked tough and ready for anything, but he could sense her emotions and he knew she was a little nervous and maybe unsure of herself and of him. "We could ask Sam and Tabitha to come too." He offered, deciding to play it safe and take things slow. Rahne nodded in agreement, she felt sure Holmes would behave himself, but she'd feel much more comfortable if Tabitha and Sam were with them.

* * *

><p><strong>Marcini's – Two Hours Later<strong>

It had been a wonderful evening, the food was great and they were all enjoying each other's company as they all sat around the table after their meal. Holmes turned out to be a perfect gentleman and Rahne was feeling a lot more comfortable with him now that she'd gotten to know him better. Holmes felt comfortable with them as well and Tabitha was finding out he wasn't a total bore now that he'd opened up. She and the others were laughing at his stories from his days in the Avenger's Academy.

"Okay, so let me get this straight….you and this class full of nuts, who are _supposed_ to be learnin t' save th world, get trashed, watch **Animal House** and decide to put a horse in th Avenger's Mansion?" Sam asked as Holmes finished his ridiculous story. Holmes took a drink of his beer and nodded.

"Yeah, th best part is it took a giant dump in shell-head's office." He said as Sam and Rahne both started laughing again.

"That's awesome." Tabitha said as she finally stopped laughing. "I was beginning to think you were born an old man."

"I've had ma moments of debauchery." Holmes admitted. Tabitha was right though, he'd always been committed and disciplined and he rarely let himself go like that. He was also introverted and while he could seem standoffish at times, he _was_ conscious of others feelings and always tried to protect and comfort his friends. Holmes problem was that he was overprotective to the point that his best friend growing up had often accused him of smothering her. Jessie thought he was just trying to play the hero at first, but ultimately she realized he wasn't focused on himself at all, he_really_ did care that much about her.

"Where th hell did ya'll get th horse?!" Sam asked.

"Off one of those carriages in Central Park…." Holmes said. "Dude driving it went to th head and while he was in there, Joystick grabbed the horse and we all took off."

"Joystick was in your class?!" Tabitha asked in disbelief.

"Some of us were there because we wanted to be…others because it was their last chance….Janice blew hers…." Holmes sighed.

"I'm sorry about yuir friend." Rahne said quietly.

"Thanks…..well, looks like I managed to kill th mood…..ya'll ready to leave?" Holmes asked as he finished off his beer.

* * *

><p><strong>Back at the Institute<strong>

"Ya'll coming?" Tabitha asked as she and Sam started walking back to the house from the garage.

"We're gonna take a walk Tabby." Holmes said as he and Rahne headed off into the garden. He could see in the dark as well as Rahne, the moon was full and she wasn't nervous about being alone with him now. She morphed to her transitional form and she was impressed that he wasn't taken aback when she changed. Most normal people were disgusted by her werewolf form and there were some mutants that weren't comfortable around her either, like Monet.

"So where in Scotland is home fer you?" He asked as they walked beneath the trees.

"Muir Isle" She answered. "It's near Ullapool…..do ye know where tha' is?" she asked, half expecting him to say no.

"Yeah….mom's ancestors were from th MacLaren Clan...family history's important to us and I learned a lot about Scotland." He told her.

"MacLarens?" she asked. "They fought wit' Robert th Bruce! I think I've met yuir ancestors!" She exclaimed.

"You went back in time?!" he asked, hardly believing what he'd heard. He'd had adventures that would blow your mind, but he'd never been through time before and he was really impressed that Rahne had.

"Aye, we all did." she said proudly. "I got tae meet th king and he even gave me this necklace." She said as Holmes bent down and looked at her beautiful emerald set in silver. They'd all had hard lives since they'd gotten their powers, but he was glad she had some happy memories as well. The king must have been as taken with Rahne as he was to give her such a gift and he began to appreciate how special she really was.

"That explains that X on his belt all th history nerds have been arguing about." Holmes said with a laugh. Rahne blushed slightly, she hadn't thought about it when she'd given her belt to the king, but historians had been puzzling over it for years.

"Where's home fer ye?" She asked after a moment.

"Greenwood South Carolina…..we moved back when dad got out of th Army, ma youngest sister was born there." He told her.

"Ye ha' a big family?" She asked.

"Yeah, most of 'em live around Greenwood, but ma uncle Randy, ma granny and some cousins live in Alabama, I used to get to go stay with them in th summer." He said, recalling memories of happier days. "You got any brother's or sisters?" he asked.

"No…..it's jus' me and mum." Rahne said. Biology meant nothing as far as either was concerned and Moira loved Rahne as if she'd given birth to her. Rahne regarded Moira as her _real_ mother because she'd saved her and raised her and loved her like her own.

"Wha' are yuir sisters like? ...I always wished I had a brother or sister." Rahne asked.

"Well, Anna's nothin like me...thankfully. She's a lot like Tabitha, she was always getting into something, but she was a good kid and she never did anything_really_bad. We used t' be really close, she's only two years younger than me and kind of a tomboy." He explained. "She was a pest sometimes, but I love her." He added. Rahne smiled, she didn't know him that well yet, but she was sure he was a good big brother, the kind she sometimes wished she had. "Anna's gonna be graduatin' from Auburn soon….she's changed a lot while I've been gone…." He sighed. Holmes had missed out on a lot of Anna's life and he felt guilty he hadn't been there to help her through some tough times she'd had in high school and when she'd started college.

"Wha' about yuir youngest sister?" Rahne asked. She could sense how sad Holmes was that he hadn't been there for them when they were growing up, but she knew he needed to deal with his feelings instead of hiding them.

"Mary's th' baby….she's six years younger than me and four years younger than Anna." He explained. "Anna loves her, but she just wasn't close to her like she was with me….and I've been gone most of her life….she doesn't really know me." He said. "She's smart, beautiful and popular…..head cheerleader, homecoming queen, honors student….I think she felt left out being th' youngest and she's tryin' t' make up fer it." He sighed.

"Wha's wrong?" Rahne asked, sensing Holmes feelings.

"I'm worried she's gonna turn into whatever I am….I don't want this life fer her." He said grimly. He wanted Mary to have a normal life; he couldn't stand the idea of her being exposed to all the violence and pain that he and Rahne had. She was already sixteen and he hoped she was out of the woods, most people mutated before they were her age, but there were always late bloomers and there was no benchmark for whatever he was.

"It's been hard fer ye tae hasn't it?" She asked.

"Yeah…..everyone thought I was a mutant when I changed, you know what that's like." He answered.

"It was hard fer me tae accept tha there was an animal inside me...it jus' seems so unnatural...and th way people look at me...even other mutants..." she said as her voice broke and she tried to keep her emotions in check. She didn't want to start crying in front of him, but her life had been so hard and she'd been treated like an animal. Holmes reached out and hugged her as she returned his embrace, grateful he understood what she had gone through.

"Well, it's not any weirder than eye-beams or turnin yerself into ice or metal...must be nice to be so **_normal_**..." Holmes muttered sarcastically as he continued to comfort her. People never ceased to disappoint him, everyone was always whining about how mistreated they were and then they did the same thing to someone else. "We _all_ have an animal inside us Rahne…." He admitted as they sat down on the bench under the oak tree.

They sat in the moonlight and talked for a long time that night about their friends, their families and their adventures before the war. Rahne said her mother was dead; she never mentioned her father and Holmes didn't pry. However, she did mention in passing that she was treated very badly by her guardian, Reverend Craig. Holmes wasn't naïve, he knew his religion wasn't perfect and he was disgusted by the things misguided fools had done in the name of God. Rahne was one of the sweetest girls he'd ever met and it was truly disturbing to think she'd been abused. Still, he admired her strength and respected her for overcoming all the obstacles in her life; she was remarkable and her faith was inspiring as well.

Rahne enjoyed hearing about Holmes' family and all the things he used to get into with his cousins when he stayed with them in the summer. It seemed like he had a very tight-knit, loving family and she was saddened to learn that he and his father weren't getting along anymore due to his decision to serve with X-Force. It was clearly a sore subject for him, so she began telling him about her adventures with the New Mutants and how they'd traveled through time, fought demons, battled aliens and saved the world several times already. Holmes was really impressed and shared a few stories about battling Red Skull, Hydra, Mephisto, Ultron and even Dr. Doom.

Rahne was pleased to learn that he took his faith as seriously as she did and she was delighted that he wanted to go to church with her. His service with SHIELD and his concern for those less fortunate were also traits she admired...and for the first time, she really started to notice him, physically. Rahne wasn't shallow, but she liked a guy who took care of himself and Holmes clothes did little to conceal the fact that he had spent years training and pushing himself to the limit. True, he was scarred by his experiences in more ways than one, but so was she and they understood each other without a word being spoken about the war. Rahne realized that he was hurting inside too, but that he was used to hiding his feelings, he was used to protecting people and putting others needs above his own.


	3. X-Force 3: Blood and Iron

The X-Force, a special operations unit formed by Charles Xavier's former students, the New Mutants, stand ready to strike at the enemies of the mutant race. Their aggressive approach to the conflict between humanity and the mutants has put them at odds with their mentor and the X-Men. However, with the mutant nation of Genosha reduced to ashes and anti-mutant hysteria raging after the war with Apocalypse, the X-Force may be the best hope for the survival of the mutants.

**Previously**

Noriko Ashida was cruelly turned away from the Xavier Institute by Julian Keller, but she was met by the new member of X-Force, Michael "Mike" Holmes who asked her to accompany him back to set things right. Noriko was welcomed by the team and received the help she desperately needed to control her powers. Meanwhile, "Holmes" as he's become known tracked down Laura Kinney in order to keep a promise he made to their mutual friend Kiden Nixon.

Rahne Sinclair was touched by the kindness he showed Noriko and came to see how he was settling in. Holmes was equally enamored with Rahne and the two began to bond over dinner with Sam Guthrie and Tabitha Smith at a local restaurant. After dinner the pair took a walk in the institute's gardens and grew closer as they talked long into the night.

This issue:

X-Force: Cannonball, Boomer, Wolfsbane, Siryn, Warpath, Wrath, Mirage

X-Men: Cyclops, M, Shadow Cat, Beast, Forge

Students: Pixie, Surge, X-23, Armor, Anole

* * *

><p><strong><strong>X-Force # 3: Blood and Iron<strong>**

**Xavier Institute – Westchester New York**

**The Next Morning**

Tabitha waked and sighed with contentment as she felt Sam's strong arms around her. Making love with him was the most wonderful feeling in the world; she was safe, she was loved, and somebody cared. Growing up, she'd never thought she'd feel this way about anyone, she'd never let herself get too close to any guy, not after the terrible way her father had treated her. All that had changed when she'd met Sam, he made her feel safe and she trusted him completely, now she couldn't imagine not having him in her life.

"I love ya Tabby, I always will." Sam said as she rolled over and kissed him. They'd been through so much already and while he didn't know what the future had in store for them, he knew they'd always be together. She'd overcome so much and grown so strong; he was thankful he could share his life with her and he made sure she knew how much he loved and respected her. It was times like this when the burden of leadership seemed to weigh on him the most. There was nothing he'd rather do than lie there and cuddle with her; she deserved to be loved, but he had a mission to plan and everyone's lives depended on his decisions.

* * *

><p><strong>The West Wing - 2nd Floor<strong>

"Hey Terry." Rahne said sweetly as she opened her bedroom door and met Danielle and Theresa in the hallway. "Och, ye look exhausted, how did everythin' go yesterday?" she asked as she hugged her friend.

"We had a good visit." She said. "Dad's not drinking anymore…..I think he's serious this time." She said as she returned Rahne's embrace. She'd gotten back really late last night and she was still tired, but she felt better than she had in a long time. She was thankful to have James in her life now, he had helped her through her own struggles with alcoholism and now he was standing by her while she tried to help her father. She was also grateful for good friends like Rahne and Tabitha, who were genuinely interested in her problems and always ready to help her.

"Where's Tabby?" Danielle asked after a moment.

"Where do ye think?" Rahne asked as Theresa snickered.

"Oh…..right….." Danielle muttered as she told herself, again, not to be jealous. _'I'm never getting any….'_ She thought as they all walked down the hall. Sam had gotten away, James was taken, Rahne and Holmes were clearly interested in each other and the only single guy in the house close to her age was Bobby. She'd never really been attracted to him, but he'd seemed interested in her since she'd returned, so maybe she would give him a chance. Theresa felt a little sorry for Danielle; growing up, she had always been the one the boys were interested in and Rahne was always left out and lonely. Now the roles were reversed and while Theresa knew Danielle didn't need anyone to take care of her, they all wanted to be loved.

"Where's the new guy?" Danielle asked as they met Sam, Tabitha and James at the top of the stairs. "Not like a SHIELD agent to oversleep."

"He was up and hour ago…." James said. Holmes had a really noisy alarm clock that had met with an unfortunate end a few minutes ago. "I don't know where he went, probably the Danger Room."

"Wha's he like?" Theresa asked.

"The guy escaped from an 80's movie, he's a real hard-ass." James said. "He's what Cable must have been like when he was twenty."

"He is nae!" Rahne protested.

"How would ye know furtop?" Theresa asked. James and Sam had gone on missions with Holmes during the war with Apocalypse, but as far as she knew Rahne had never met him.

"They had a date." Danielle explained.

"Already?!" Theresa asked. Rahne was really coming out of her shell lately, but this was a big step for her. She was still shy sometimes and Theresa was surprised she'd been brave enough to go out with Holmes so soon after meeting him.

'_Yeah, already….'_ Danielle thought. Rahne had made a lot of progress, but she was still a little needy and Danielle thought she was taking things too fast with the new guy. She was still provoked by the way Holmes had yelled at Julian the day before and she worried he might be too impatient for Rahne.

Danielle had tried to be open-minded about Holmes and give him a chance, but she hated SHIELD. They'd turned MutantTown into a miniature police state after the war in an attempt to round up all of Apocalypse followers and keep order. She'd heard all kinds of awful stories about "life behind the wire" and about the prison camp where SHIELD kept the mutants who'd sided with Apocalypse. She was angry that no one seemed to care how badly the mutants were being treated and she wondered why the X-Men hadn't done something about it. The people in Mutant Town were victims too and while she didn't know for sure that Holmes had been directly involved, he was still a part of SHIELD and so he was guilty in her mind.

"It was nae a date!" Rahne exclaimed. "We jus' went tae dinner…..Tabby and Sam went too!"

"That's a double date!" Theresa laughed as Rahne blushed a little. "Seriously, I hope it works out fer ye this time….although I can't imagine wha' ye're kids will sound like." she teased.

"Terry!" Rahne and Danielle both exclaimed in unison, making everyone else laugh even harder. Rahne loved her teammates like they were family, but she didn't want her love life discussed openly, she was _still_ fairly inexperienced and it was embarrassing. Besides, she'd just met Holmes, it was a little too early to be joking about that she thought.

* * *

><p><strong>The Kitchen<strong>

"Thank ya ma'am…..this sure beats th' heli-carrier mess hall." Holmes said as he ate the breakfast Marilyn had prepared for them.

"I should hope so." Marilyn said, although she was grateful for the compliment.

"Hey Mrs. Hannah! Hey new guy!" Megan squealed as she flew into the kitchen. She was a bundle of energy and never met a stranger; most people took one look at Holmes and assumed he was mean, but she immediately wanted to be his friend.

"Hi Tinkerbell." Holmes teased as he took a sip of his coffee. She looked like she'd escaped from a Disney movie, with her pink hair and colorful wings and he couldn't help but be amused by her.

"It's Pixie actually." She said as she sat down beside him. "You're Nori's creepy friend Mike right?" she asked as Holmes laughed and nodded. "My real name is Megan, but you can call me Meg if you want too." She told him. "I think it's great you're dating Ms. Sinclair!" She blurted out excitedly. "She's my favorite teacher….well, she's not really a teacher, but you know….anyway, she's so pretty, I don't know why guys don't pay more attention to her." Holmes nearly choked on his pancakes; living in school with a bunch of teenagers was _really_ going to take some getting used too.

"We just met, we're not dating." Holmes said.

"Whatever…" Megan said. "Hey, here comes Nori, be sure you tell her she looks pretty now, she was really embarrassed about being so dirty."

"You look great Nori." Holmes said as she walked into the kitchen following her roommate. She clearly wasn't a morning person and Megan's exuberance was irritating. She liked her, but she really needed some coffee before she could handle all that energy; it just wasn't natural to be that cheerful in the morning.

"Thanks." She said as she served her plate and sat down beside him. She liked him, but she thought he'd treated her like a damsel in distress yesterday and she didn't appreciate him jumping on Julian the way he had; she could fight her own battles. "Listen Mike, I know you mean well, but I can handle my own business…..don't jump in my fights again….I don't need some guy to protect me." She told him.

"And I don't need militant feminism before breakfast." He said bluntly. He was a little embarrassed by his outburst the day before and he'd already been duly chastised by Rahne. He knew he was wrong, but something about the way she said it set him off.

"Damn it! I'm serious! I don't want your pity!" She snapped. "I can stand up for myself!" she yelled at him. "I've had to ever since I was thirteen!" she added. Holmes regarded Noriko coldly for a moment before he took another sip of his coffee. _'Good job jackass...'_ he thought to himself. Noriko was used to being looked down on and it was only natural for her to take offense, but he'd given in to his impatient nature, again, and snapped at her.

"Ya don't have ma pity." He said after a moment. "Yer're strong Nori, I respect that...if I'd been thrown out when I was thirteen, I'd probably be dead now." He told her. She reminded him a lot of Janice and he didn't want to see her end up the same way. Everything had been taken away from her and her self-respect was all she had left. "Look, I'm sorry." he said as he held out his hand.

"Me too...but don't treat me like a kid Mike." Noriko said as they shook hands. Megan was relieved, she hated to see people fight and she didn't really understand why they'd blown up at each other like that.

"Forge does some good work." He said, examining her gauntlets. He was nowhere near Forge's level of genius, but he was exceptionally gifted and he understood exactly how they worked. Holmes knew he was an extraordinary inventor, but he was still impressed; it had only taken him a few hours and they were made out of spare parts and junk from other inventions he had lying around the lab.

"He said they'll really improve my aim…..I can't wait to try them out." She said after a moment.

"Ya wanna fight?" He asked.

"What else am I going to do?" she asked.

"Have a real life." He answered. "_Not_ end up like me."

"I know what I'm doing." she said curtly.

"So do I." He said. "I've been doin' this since I was fourteen...I've been shot, stabbed, beaten half to death, tortured and nearly eaten by a giant dragon from outer space." He told her. "You be careful, _"superhero"_ fights can get really ugly." He said. Holmes didn't want her to fight, but it was her choice and he respected her courage and her willingness to stand up and fight for others.

"Yeah, it ain't a Saturday mornin' cartoon out there." Sam said emphatically as he and the rest of X-Force joined them. "In th' real world, people die." He added.

"We know what we're getting into." Noriko said as Hisako and Victor joined her. They'd all met the day before and they all wanted to train to be X-Men, much to Megan's chagrin. She could be really naive sometimes, but she was a sensitive girl and she could see how deeply Rahne was affected by what she'd been through and she'd tried to talk to the others. None of them paid any attention to her. Besides, the students didn't want to be outlaws like X-Force; they wanted to be heroes like the X-Men.

"Ya'll don't have a clue." Sam said as he served Tabitha and sat down with her to eat. Noriko was indignant, she knew they were just trying to protect her and the other students, but they didn't have the right to decide whether she should fight or not.

"Terry, this is Cable's other evil clone, Mike." James said as he and Theresa sat down across from Holmes.

"Whatever he's told ya…it's all true." Holmes said as he shook hands with Theresa. "How ya'll been holdin' up?" he asked.

"Same as always, I guess." James answered.

"That bad huh?" Holmes asked.

"Yeah, I hate to admit, it but we could use some help….even if it's _yours_." James said, as Holmes gave him a devious grin. Rahne realized that deep down; they _did_ respect each other even if they didn't always like each other. Still, she thought their arguing was juvenile _'typical guys...always trying to prove who's is bigger...'_ she thought.

"That was racist." Holmes joked.

"Did they ever figure out what you are?" James asked him as Theresa gave him a look.

"Not a clue….even Dr. Nemesis doesn't know." Holmes told him.

"Does it bother you, not knowing?" Megan asked.

"It used too, but then I realized it's not as important what I am, as who I am." Holmes told her.

"Too early in the morning for philosophy." Tabitha muttered as she poured a cup of coffee. "Maybe you're one of a kind...like Danger." She said. Holmes was wondering where she was; hoping her Shiar technology might be able to discern something the others had missed. That would have to wait as they were interrupted by the new addition to the X-Men.

"Who are you?" Monet asked in a snide tone as she walked into the kitchen and saw Holmes. She didn't hold X-Force in very high regard; she thought they were beneath her and the X-Men. They may have dealt the final blow against Apocalypse, but they weren't alone in the assault against his tower and they hadn't been able to prevent Jean's death. Monet hated Emma Frost and she didn't like the direction the team was headed now that she had Scott's ear. Naturally, she was looking for someone to blame and that blame fell squarely on X-Force.

"Th' token minority." Holmes said as the other members of X-Force and the students began laughing.

"One of you X-Babies want to let me in on the joke?" Monet asked sarcastically. Holmes immediately took offense to her tone and that swipe at his new team. This girl was young and inexperienced, so where did she get off calling X-Force X-Babies?

"Holmes isn't a mutant." James said, annoyed by Monet's condescending attitude.

"Then why don't you go to SHIELD?" Monet asked bluntly.

"Ya'll have a better dental plan." Holmes said, intentionally trying to provoke her.

"You've got an attitude problem, do you know that?!" Monet snapped.

"Yeah, but it's just a little one." Holmes said smugly as everyone started laughing again.

"Holmes, dial it down." Sam said. He didn't like the division between the two teams and while he didn't like Monet either, this petty bickering was pointless. Despite his good qualities, Holmes was impatient and he always had to be right. Sam knew Holmes' PTSD often made it hard for him to sleep, which made him even more irritable, but he was still disappointed in him for squabbling with Monet like that in front of the students.

"Asshole." Monet hissed.

"That's enough Monet." Scott said sternly as he walked in to get some coffee. She was powerful, with perfect control over her powers, but she was arrogant and lacked maturity. She seemed to delight in creating conflict and Scott was more than a little tired of it, there was already tension between the two teams and she was only making it worse by harassing their newest member. "You're an X-Man now; I suggest you try to act like one." He added. Monet was indignant, but she didn't press the issue, she was sure Scott only tolerated X-Force because the Professor did.

"What's her problem?" Noriko asked as Scott and Monet took their plates to the dining room to join the others.

"Just a snotty rich girl." Tabitha said indignantly. "She thinks she's better than everybody else."

"Yeah…..but I can't blame her for asking…..it's not everyday that a SHIELD agent suddenly decides to switch sides and fight _**for**_ mutants." Danielle said as Megan, Noriko, Hisako and Victor left to get ready for class.

"He disnae ha' tae justify himself tae _ye_ Dani." Rahne said. She didn't like Danielle's tone and she was beginning to realize just how much she'd changed while she'd been away. It broke Rahne's heart to see her act like this and she wondered if Danielle even realized how she sounded.

"I've got the right to know about my teammates Rahne, and after everything _they_ did in Mutant Town, it's a fair question." Danielle said.

"No it's not and you sound like a racist." Tabitha said angrily. She was still put off by what Danielle had said about him at the bar and she didn't particularly like her anyway. She could understand Danielle being bitter about what had happened to her at the hands of the Purifiers, but Rahne had been treated horribly as well and she wasn't like this.

"Shut up!" Danielle snapped. "I was fighting _**real**_ racists while you were robbing convenience stores!" she said angrily.

"Th' hells got into ya'll!?" Sam asked as he held Tabitha back.

"You don't want none of this princess!" Tabitha yelled. "I was fighting Apocalypse while you were off feeling sorry for yourself!"

"That's enough!" Theresa yelled. "We're not going to start bouncing of th' walls like th' bloody X-Men!" she told them. "Danielle, don't mistake our patience fer tolerance." She said as she turned to her friend. "I know ye're still angry about wha' Stryker did t' ye, but…..."

"This has _**nothing**_ to do with that!" Danielle interrupted. "I'm not a racist!"

"I'm here because I don't agree with th' way this country treats ya'll." Holmes said. "This MRA bill is bullshit and it won't stop there….if they pass it, and they will, then they're going to come after all th' other super humans and I'm not gonna be a part of that." He said. "We're **all** freaks to _them_….it doesn't matter where our powers come from." He told her. Holmes often had nightmares about the early days of the Mutant Town occupation and was angry Danielle had brought it up in front of Rahne. He didn't like having his motives questioned by _anyone_, let alone Danielle who hadn't fought in the war, but he answered her to try to keep the peace.

"You_really_ think you know what it's like to be a mutant?" Danielle asked incredulously.

"I was thirteen, I got super powers...what does that sound like t' you?" He asked sarcastically. "I thought I was a mutant…..everybody did and I hated it." He told her. "Ya think I don't know what you've gone through…..that I don't know what its like to be treated like yer're not even human?" he asked. "I _**was**_ a mutant till I got t' SHIELD and they did a genetic profile. Now I'm an "unclassified aberration of nature"…so yeah, I know what its like to be different." He added.

"We're all here because we believe in th' professor's dream…..or at least Ah thought we did." Sam said as he gave Danielle a cold look. "We don't have time fer ya'll's personal bullshit right now. Ah've got a mission t' plan and we've got three days t' train fer it. RIGHT is planning something big and if Cypher's right, then we might be able t' finally take Hodge out fer good." He said.

"What about the Reavers Sam?" James asked. He couldn't get the image of those kids nailed to those X-shaped crosses out of his mind and he wanted to tear Donald Pierce apart for it. That cyborg monster had tortured Rahne and Roberto years earlier and nearly destroyed the New Mutants and the X-Men. Now it seemed he'd rebuilt the Reavers and begun recruiting; capitalizing on the war to raise an army of mutant haters.

"Much as Ah hate t' say it, they've got t' wait." Sam said. "We think RIGHT might be behind some of these kidnappings; maybe even planning somethin' against th' school….so that makes them th' priority."

"Alright then, let's kick Hodge's ass for good this time." James said. "C'mon, let's get in a workout before we start training." He said as he, Holmes and Tabitha got up and headed down to the gym. The institute had a second gym specially designed for people with superhuman strength and the equipment could push even Holmes and James to their limits.

"Sam, I'm coming with ye on this mission." Rahne said emphatically.

"Good, we're gonna heed yer help…..come to th' Danger Room when yer're done with class." He said as he and Theresa headed down to team briefing room to work out their plan of attack and see what new intelligence Cypher had for them.

"Rahne, are you sure about this?" Danielle asked.

"Stop actin' like ye know wha's best fer me Dani!" Rahne snapped. "Put yuirself in order first!"

"That's not fair Rahne!" Danielle exclaimed.

"Neither was wha' ye said tae Tabby and Mike!" Rahne shot back. "Tabby trusted ye! She treated ye like a friend and ye betrayed her! Ye ha' no idea how awful her life's been and ye ha' no right tae talk tae her like tha'!" Rahne said angrily. "Ye dinnae know anythin' about Mike either….wha' he's been through….wha' he's had tae do and wha' its done tae him." She said.

"And you do?!" Danielle asked. "You haven't even known him a day yet!" she snapped. "You haven't changed at all, you're so desperate for a relationship; you'll fall for any guy who pays attention to you." She said.

"I know because I was **there **Dani!" Rahne shouted. There was really nothing Danielle could say to that and she began to feel guilty again. She hadn't meant for any of this to happen; she was legitimately concerned about Rahne's involvement in the mission and with Holmes. "He's jus' like us….he had th' same hopes and dreams we all did….he wanted tae help people, but he ended up bent and broken jus' like us." Rahne told her.

"Rahne, he's not like us...he's a trained killer." Danielle said emphatically. "I'm not trying to run your life, but you saw how he flew off the handle at Julian…..I don't want to see you get hurt." She said.

"He's nae perfect, but I'm _**nae **_a needy little girl anymore and I can make muh own decisions." Rahne said emphatically. Rahne was completely out of patience, Danielle had insulted Tabitha and Holmes and now she was treating her like she was fourteen again.

"After everything we've been through, you're going to let a guy come between us?" Danielle asked, becoming emotional. She and Rahne shared a psychic bond once more and she was shocked by how angry she'd become.

"It's nae about Mike, it's about **ye**! I dinnae know who ye are anymore and I cannae deal wit' ye right now!" Rahne said as she stormed off. Danielle sank back into her chair and started to cry _'What's happening to me?'_ she wondered as Rahne's words rang in her ears.

* * *

><p><strong>The East Wing – 2<strong>**nd ****Floor**

"So…..you and Rahne?" James asked as he and Holmes went back upstairs to change into their uniforms.

"Yeah, me and Rahne." Holmes said. He could already tell there was something very special about her and he wanted a relationship with her. James wasn't surprised; Rahne was strong, she shared Holmes' faith and they'd both grown up fighting, their attraction to each other was natural.

"Mike, she's special… she's the soul of this team, you remember that and don't you _ever_ do anything to hurt her." James said emphatically. "She had an awful childhood, worse than Tabby, but she's overcome it and she's the best of us….you make sure you treat her with the respect she deserves." He said.

* * *

><p><strong>The Patio<strong>

Rahne stepped out on the patio to get some air and clear her head. There had been too much drama this morning and she needed a moment to herself to calm down and think. She felt awful for yelling at Danielle the way she had; especially after all she'd been through the last few years. Still, Danielle was wrong to treat Holmes the way she had and Tabitha had taken her into her confidence. She had been cruel to betray her trust and use her past against her like that. Rahne didn't regret what she'd said to Danielle, but she regretted how she'd said it and she knew she needed to apologize. She was upset she'd lost her temper, but Danielle should know better and Rahne was extremely protective of Tabitha after all they'd been through.

Rahne shifted to her transitional form and sat down on the low rock wall surrounding the patio, looking out toward the garden. It was pleasant this morning despite being summer; the grass felt soft and cool beneath her feet and the breeze felt good as it blew through her fur. She was beginning to feel more like herself again and she took a moment to pray, asking God for help speaking to Danielle and for the success of their upcoming mission. She prayed she could let go of the hate she was feeling toward Cameron Hodge and RIGHT as well. Justice was one thing, revenge was quite another and she didn't want to give in to it; she didn't want to become a monster. _'Those poor kids he's kidnapped are __**my **__mission.' _She thought as she continued to enjoy the peace and quiet of the garden.

"Rahne….are you ok?" Josh asked as he stepped out onto the patio.

"I'm fine." She said, looking back over her shoulder at him.

"No…..you're all wolfed out….something's bothering you." He said as he sat down beside her.

"I change forms fer lots of reasons….nae jus' when I'm angry or upset." She told him as she changed back to her natural form. He'd been infatuated with her since he'd arrived and while she'd thought it was cute at first, he was really starting to make her uncomfortable now. Such a relationship was out of the question since she was a mentor to the students, but Rahne wouldn't have been interested even if she weren't an instructor. Josh was handsome and she _did_ feel some physical attraction to him, but he was conceited, undisciplined, young and naïve; definitely not what she was looking for in a companion.

She was completely out of his league; she had saved the world several times before she'd learned to drive and she'd already overcome more hardship in her life than Josh would ever know.

She couldn't imagine him ever being able to talk to her the way Holmes had the night before and she was convinced he was only interested in her body. She'd rebuffed his earlier advances and she wished he'd respect her wishes and leave her alone. Emma Frost didn't like her at all and she'd take pleasure in crushing her dreams of becoming an instructor if she could.

"Is it that new guy?" Josh asked.

"**No**, it's nae Mike." Rahne said tersely. "Muh social life is none of yuir business."

"You're _really_ going out with that psycho?" Josh asked incredulously.

"He's nae a psycho!" she said emphatically. "And yes, _**I am**_." She said, hoping Josh would finally get the message.

"This sucks Rahne!" Josh exclaimed. "You never gave _**me**_ a chance! You're not being fair!" He lamented. He'd been coming on to her for weeks and getting nowhere; but she'd gone to dinner with Holmes and they'd only just met. He thought Holmes was a jerk and he couldn't understand what Rahne saw in him; he was really embarrassed to lose out like this.

"Fair?!" Rahne asked in utter disbelief. "Ha' ye lost yuir mind?! I'm a teacher, yui're a student, end o' story!" she said emphatically.

"But you're not a_real_ teacher….and nobody would have to know." He said, although he instantly wished he hadn't when he saw the look on her face. She was nineteen; barely older than some of the students she taught and _sometimes_ they forgot who they were dealing with and tried to treat her like another teenager. Rahne was always quick to put them in their place and she'd more than earned their respect, except for Josh. He'd let the fact that he was an omega level mutant go to his head and he actually thought he was Rahne's equal.

"I'm in a position of trust Josh!" Rahne snapped. "I wouldnae be interested in ye if I weren't a teacher…..yui're too young." She said. She knew she'd just ripped his heart out and she felt bad, but this was for his own good. He had no clue what she'd been through in the six years since she'd enrolled in Xavier's and she was doing her best to shield him, and the others from similar experiences. They shouldn't have to surrender their childhoods and take on responsibilities most adults were afraid too like the New Mutants had done. They weren't like her class at all. Several, like Noriko, had come from less than ideal circumstances; but many, like Megan had been loved and sheltered their whole life and they were completely unprepared for what awaited them.

"Too young?!" He exclaimed. "Holmes has got to be like thirty or something!"

"He's twenty-three and tha's nae wha' I meant." Rahne said. "I saved th' world three times before I learned tae drive….ye dinnae know anythin' about me or wha' I've been through. We've got _nothin'_ in common Josh." She said. "Ye need tae be wit' someone yuir own age tha' understands ye…..and who _ye_ understand." She told him.

"But I don't want to be with someone else…." he said despondently. "I love you!" he said as he tried to kiss her. Rahne shoved him back, morphed back to her transitional form and snatched him up off the ground by his shirt.

"If ye e'er try tha' again I'll bite yuir lips off!" she snarled. "I want a _**man**_ in muh life, nae a snot-nosed kid! Now leave me alone before ye get me fired!" she yelled, baring her fangs. Josh was so frightened for a moment that he almost wet his pants, but he'd finally gotten the message loud and clear. He realized Rahne took her responsibility seriously and that he really didn't understand her at all. She could smell his fear and while she regretted scaring him like that, she knew she'd done the right thing.

"Your loss…..freak." He said as he turned to leave. He was utterly humiliated that she'd rejected him so he lashed out at her. Rahne shook her head in disgust and left to get ready for her morning class _'I guess he'll eventually grow up if he lives long enough.'_ She thought.

Since it was summer, they only had class for a few hours three days a week, so she'd have plenty of time to train for the mission without neglecting her duties. Emma Frost didn't like X-Force and was looking for any excuse to punish her for her continued involvement with the team.

"I told you to leave her alone….." David said as Josh came back into their room. "Why don't you ever listen to me?" he asked. He's seen the whole thing out their window and he was glad Rahne had finally put Josh in his place. He thought she was a good mentor who really had her student's best interest at heart and he didn't want her to get in trouble because Josh thought he was a "stud" and could have any girl he wanted.

"Because you're a virgin with no game." Josh said derisively.

"So are you." David pointed out as the two began to argue again.

* * *

><p><strong>Danger <strong>**Room Control Center**

**Later that Morning**

"I gave you a uniform to wear Mr. Holmes." Hank said indignantly as Holmes walked into the control room after his workout, wearing his old SHIELD armor. Holmes had come to get a retina scan and security clearance from Kitty so the Danger Room computer would allow him to train. "That armor of yours is practically worn out." He added.

"It'll hold up." Holmes told him as he looked into the scanner. "Look Doc, no offense, but I just don't trust that light-weight stuff….and those pants are like a cheap hotel." He said, making both Forge and Kitty laugh.

"Come again?" Hank asked with a bewildered look.

"No ballroom." Forge explained. He wasn't a fan of the skin-tight costumes either; they weren't really that comfortable, especially in the summer.

"They're designed to stretch!" Hank protested.

"I ain't wearin' blue and gold spandex! Not even if it did fit!" Holmes said emphatically. _'No wonder Wolverines always in such a bad mood with those things stuck up his rear…'_Holmes thought.

"It is not spandex!" Hank fumed, "The very idea…I'll have you know that…"

"Hank, I don't think either of us can fault the man for being particular about his gear." Forge interrupted.

"Don't worry Holmes, I'll have your gear ready soon." He told him. Holmes had asked for heavy-duty nano-armor, which wasn't a problem, except that Noriko's needs came first and of course Holmes understood that.

"I've got you're access codes and security clearance programmed Holmes, but I don't like your codename….Wraith sounds like a super villain." Kitty said.

"Ma name is **Wrath**." Holmes answered as he adjusted his mask. _'Why do people keep getting that wrong?'_he wondered.

"That's even worse!" Kitty protested.

"Well, pardon me all t' hell." He said sarcastically.

"You look like a super villain too, I guess it fits." She said indignantly. He'd painted his blue SHIELD armor pitch-black and he really did look terrify now, especially with that big gun he had strapped to his back. The vest was inch thick Stark Ind. composite complete with armored gauntlets and gloves, thigh and shin guards and a menacing ballistic mask. He'd covered the SHIELD emblem on the chest, but there was no X anywhere on his uniform since X-Force was a covert strike team. Frightening as he looked, he fit right in with the rest of X-Force. Tabitha wore a black costume with steel-gray shin and forearm guards and an armor vest that showed off her incredible abs. James and Sam both wore gray and black X-Force uniforms, although James had an armored gauntlet and spaulder on his left arm. Even Theresa had grudgingly given up the X-Men blue and gold for the darker look of her team. Rahne also had a black X-Force uniform since she was still a part of the team.

"X-Force ain't a superhero team." Holmes said bluntly. It wasn't that he didn't respect the X-Men and their efforts to foster good relations with the humans, but he was provoked by the fact that most of them didn't seem to appreciate the value of X-Force. They stayed in the shadows and did what had to be done to end threats before they could fully develop. Their proactive approach put them at odds with the X-Men, who saw their role as a defensive one and the division between the two teams was growing. The X-Force had been forged in the war and had a much less optimistic outlook than the X-Men. They'd been left behind when Apocalypse attacked and they'd fought a guerrilla war against him and eventually won due to Cable's unconventional tactics.

"What's this program you've added?" Hank asked, noticing the new program Holmes had uploaded earlier that morning.

"That's Stark's latest toy….Stark Industries mark 4 powered combat armor…th' grunts at SHIELD call it a CapeKiller." He explained. "It's supposed to even the odds against super villains, but they'll use it on th' rest of us." Holmes said ominously. "That MRA bill passes and you can expect to see a lot of these _and_ sentinels, so I thought it might be a good idea to get in a little practice."

"The X-Men are trying to avoid fighting the government." Hank said firmly.

"Well, _ya'll_ be sure to tell them that when they decide to fight _you_." Holmes said sarcastically. "Ya'll excuse me. " He said as he saw his teammates gathering in the Danger Room below.

"Insufferable ass." Hank muttered indignantly.

* * *

><p><strong>Sub-Level 3<strong>

"Hey Rahne." Holmes said as he met her coming out of the women's locker room. "Ya going fer a swim?" he asked. Her X-Men costume looked just like a blue and gold one piece swimsuit and Holmes didn't know the difference since he'd never seen her in it. Her costume was a lot more revealing than her clothes the night before and he was really impressed by her physique. She was strong and powerful, with really well-defined muscles, but still graceful and feminine and she had the nicest legs he'd ever seen.

"No ye doofus, this is muh costume. I've got a class tae teach this mornin' wit' Dani." She said.

"_That's_ yer costume?" He asked in disbelief.

"Aye….Cyclops says th' black uniforms scare people…." She said, rolling her eyes. She was a werewolf; she looked terrifying no matter what she was wearing.

"So he runs around wearin' a giant blue condom instead?" Holmes asked sarcastically as Rahne started laughing. "Don't ya have any armor?" He asked, becoming serious again. He was concerned that she looked so vulnerable and he thought Scott was an idiot for making her wear that.

"This will stop bullets and tha' stuff ye've got on would jus' get in muh way and slow me down." She explained. She understood why James teased him now; he _did_ remind her of Cable with all that armor and his guns.

"Fair enough, but no boots?" he asked.

"I'm tougher than I look." She said as she morphed to her transitional form, completely covered in reddish-brown fur with razor-sharp claws and fangs. She'd ruined so many pairs of shoes when she was learning her powers that she'd gotten used to going barefooted and in her werewolf form she didn't need boots anyway.

"I know yer're strong Rahne…..I wouldn't want t' fight ya." Holmes said. Rahne was pleased that he respected her and her skills. Most people thought she was too small to fight; but she was fierce, with superhuman strength and expert training. "Listen, I had a great time with ya last night and…"

"Mike!" Sam interrupted as he and Theresa dashed out of the elevator into the hall. "Where are th others?!"

"In th' Danger Room gettin' ready fer trainin'." Holmes answered. "Th' hells th' matter?!"

"Got a message from Cypher." He said. "It's worse than we thought, they've got hostages and we gotta go in today." He added as they all headed for the Danger Room. _'Cypher, you better come through for us.'_ Holmes thought. This mission was going to be difficult enough already, but now with mutant hostages to rescue, there was absolutely no room for error and they were definitely going to need Cypher's help. He was a Hacktivist who'd caused a lot of trouble a few years earlier, but he'd since reformed. Now he was constantly causing trouble for AIM, HYDRA, Trask Industries and anyone else who threatened world peace in general and mutants in particular. Holmes didn't know how Sam had recruited him, but his skills were a huge benefit to the team even though he couldn't directly engage in battle.

* * *

><p><strong>Danger Room<strong>

"Listen up." Sam said to the others as he, Theresa, Holmes and Rahne entered the Danger Room. "RIGHT just brought in a truck load of prisoners and it looks like they're a lot further along in their plan than we thought." He said ominously. "We gotta go in today and we gotta be perfect…..Ah'm not puttin' one of those kids in a body bag." He said as everyone became dead serious and ready for action.

"I thought you were supposed to be on top of this." James said sarcastically as Cypher's avatar appeared on the monitor and the Danger Room projected a three-dimensional map of the facility for the team to study.

"I am! Breaking in is easy, it's not being noticed that's the trick Warpath!" Cypher said. "They know they're vulnerable and they've taken every precaution…it's like trying to hack A.R.M.O.R. without being noticed." He explained.

"Who?" James asked.

"Never mind…." Cypher said. "We wouldn't even know this much if Wrath hadn't been able to get inside and upload my spy program." He said. "I hacked the program that operates their security cameras, I can watch them, but that's about it at this point…if I dig any deeper, they'll know I'm there." He told them. His voice was distorted by one of the many security programs he'd written. He was still wanted and he took no chances, even Sam didn't know his real identity.

"There's definitely some next-level shit going on in there." Holmes said. "They were bringing in all kinds of top of th' line medical equipment from Sublime Corp. and United Genetics…plus th' place was crawling with those AIM armor suits they love so much." Holmes said. It was clear from what Holmes had seen on the ground and from the plans and purchase orders Cypher had stolen when he'd hacked their base in Missouri; that they were trying to rebuild the Gengineer's lab. Many of RIGHT's soldiers were former Geboshan Special Forces and Hodge himself was a Genoshan spy. Unfortunately, they were obviously a lot further along than the team realized and all their careful planning had been undone.

Sam had given Holmes the mission when he and Tabitha had gone to talk to him about joining X-Force. Holmes was still serving in SHIELD at the time and, with the aid of his telepathy, he'd convinced a known RIGHT agent that he'd be their man inside SHIELD. The fake identity Cypher had created and his telepathy had fooled the RIGHT agent and he'd had a look around and planted Cypher's spy program on his visit to the base. They still thought he was working for SHIELD and he'd planned to go back, scout the base, sabotage their defense system and attack from behind when the rest of the team attacked.

"That's a lot of guns…." James said; studying the map as Tabitha and Theresa nodded in agreement.

"Yeah…..there's a lot of 'em in there, but Ah've got a plan." Sam said. "Cypher's been working on a virus that will allow him total control of their defense system….once Boomer plants that thing; we'll turn their toys against 'em."

"Cannonball…..this may not be the best time to mention this, but I've never tested the virus…..I don't know well it will work." Cypher said.

"It better work." Theresa said firmly. "It's not like we really have a choice, we have to go in and save those kids." she said. Cypher knew she was right and he wished he had offensive powers like the others so he could do more than just spy for them. He really admired Boomer, Cannonball and Siryn, they were strong, brave and resourceful and he'd give anything to be like them.

"How many hostages?" Rahne asked. If RIGHT was going to experiment on them, then they probably wouldn't hurt them _too_ badly, but she'd witnessed Hodge's cruelty first hand and she was going to be prepared.

"We think eight." Theresa answered.

"Sam, Terry…..I hate to be "that guy" and I'm not questioning ya'lls leadership, but we're gonna need some more people….me and Rahne can't handle that many _**and**_ fight th' smileys." Holmes said.

"Here's yer back up." Sam said as Laura and Forge entered the Danger Room. "Forge agreed to fly for us and give us some air support." He said. They were both dressed in black X-Force style uniforms and Forge was eager for revenge against Hodge for his crimes on Genosha and for attacking the mansion years earlier.

"I've got some unfinished business with our dear friend Cameron." He said coldly.

"We all do, but those kids are our number one priority." Sam said. "They go home even if we don't." he said as Forge nodded in agreement. Some of the others might disapprove of their actions, but he respected X-Force and was glad to help them.

"Laura, ye stick with Holmes unless I tell ye different….no runnin' off on yer own." Theresa ordered. The X-Men wouldn't let her go on missions with them, but when she'd heard that RIGHT had kidnapped children for their cruel experiments, she'd begged Sam to let her accompany X-Force. Sam had serious reservations about including her, but he realized the X-Men weren't helping her by making her decisions for her. This was clearly something she cared deeply about; it wasn't blood lust or revenge and they needed her; those kids needed her.

"Holmes, you Tabby and Laura are going in first to locate th' kids and disable their defenses….do not screw this up." Sam said firmly.

"We got this." Tabitha said as they studied the map.

'_This is just crazy enough to work.'_ Holmes thought as Sam laid out the plan for them. He was really impressed that Sam and Theresa had put this operation together on such incredibly short notice and he knew he'd made the right choice joining X-Force.

Tabitha was a capable hacker and she carried a kit full of Forge's gadgets to aid her, but for a mission this big, Cypher was going to assist her. Sam was going to fly the PACRAT directly over the base, cloaked, and Tabitha, Holmes and Laura were going to bail out and parachute onto the roof. Once inside, Tabitha would hack in and upload Cypher's "warlock" virus, giving them both complete access to RIGHT's files and security system. Holmes and Laura would rescue the prisoners while Sam and the others captured Hodge and dealt with the RIGHT agents so they could all escape.

"I'm goin' t' prep th' P.A.C.R.A.T." Sam said. "Get yer gear ready and makes sure Beast, Nemesis and Reyes are ready for th' prisoners." He ordered. Rahne ran to change into her X-Force uniform while Holmes took Laura to the armory for more weapons.

* * *

><p><strong>Aboard the PACRAT En Route to RIGHT Genetics Facility<strong>

"Take this." Rahne said as she handed Holmes one of her first-aid kits. "Patch 'em up best ye can if they need it and I'll do th' rest when ye get back tae th' PACRAT." She told him. She knew he didn't have her level of expertise, but he had enough training to be a help to her. She'd rather go in on the rescue team, but Sam needed her on the assault team in case anything went wrong and she always followed his orders.

"I like this uniform better." He said as he looked her over. "It's got armor in all th' right places." He joked, pointing to the armor plating over her breasts. Her black and gray uniform might not be the most comfortable she'd ever worn, but it offered the best protection while not hindering her mobility. Her boots, gloves and armor were all lightweight, but very strong and made of unstable molecules to accommodate her ever changing anatomy.

"Keep yuir mind on yuir mission." Rahne said, smiling at him from behind her mask. It completely covered her face, but was open at the top for her hair. "Ye can stare at muh boobs when ye get back." She added, blushing slightly.

"I wasn't staring." He said, turning a little red himself. "And part of ma mission is makin' sure we all get back home…I know yer're tougher than I am, but promise me you'll be careful Rahne." He said, becoming serious again.

"I will, and ye better come home tae." She told him as he took her hand in both of his. There was still a lot she didn't know about him, but she wanted too and it was clear he cared about her as well. "I'll see ye on th' ground." She said as she headed back to her seat.

"Yer mascara's runnin." Holmes said as James joined them. He was wearing his war paint and it made him look even more intimidating. He was 7'2" 350lbs of pure destruction, armed with two vibranium knives and completely fearless in battle. _'Glad you're on my side.'_ Holmes thought as James gave him the finger.

"I get the armor, I mean you are a candy-ass and all, but what's with that stupid mask?" James asked as he sat down facing Holmes in the hold of the jet. They all wore some type of mask to conceal their identity, but Holmes' just seemed overkill and more for show. It was hinged to his helmet and it was strong enough to stop most bullets and offered good protection from blunt force trauma, even from super humans.

"Keeps ma face pretty." Holmes said as he flipped him off.

"Yeah, about that…what's with the scar? I thought your healing factor would have taken care of that." James said.

"Turns out adamantium doesn't agree with me." Holmes said, giving Laura a nudge. She hadn't said a word the whole flight and even that didn't get a reaction out of her. She was even more taciturn than he'd expected, but on a mission that didn't bother him. Tabitha was sitting on the other side of him, rocking out to God knows what on her iPod and popping her bubble gum every few minutes. He knew she was as focused on the mission as they were, but she was really different from anyone he'd ever served with.

"Gonna have to save that story for the bar tonight." James said as the light in the hold changed from red to green. They were coming up on their destination and it would be time for Holmes, Laura and Tabitha to jump soon. "Serval?" James asked as he helped Holmes strap his assault rifle to his leg. "I thought you'd still be using Stark Tech."

"Stark can go t' hell." Holmes said as he checked Tabitha's parachute for her. "He thinks th' MRA is a good idea…besides, this Serval AR 36 Hell bringer is th' best there is." He said. Serval's Assault Rifle model 36 was a large, heavy firearm meant to be carried by a soldier wearing their powered body armor, but Holmes was more than capable of carrying it unaided. Its powerful rounds could easily penetrate armor and its integrated shotgun and 40mm grenade launcher made it the perfect weapon for Holmes.

"Mines bigger." James joked as he pointed to the mini-gun Forge had converted for him to carry. Forge had rigged up a backpack with a power source and thousands of rounds of ammunition, making the formerly vehicle mounted weapon portable for James due to his super human strength.

"I've never needed more." Holmes retorted. James couldn't help but smile as he strapped Laura to Holmes chest for a tandem jump and handed her a sniper rifle. This plan was dangerous and daring, but it was going to work, he trusted Tabitha with his life and he knew Holmes was more than capable; he'd die to protect those kids and so would Laura.

"You two are idiots…" Laura muttered.

"Codenames only from here on…..GO!" He yelled as he lowered the ramp and the trio bailed out, hurtling toward the research facility half hidden by the trees below. They waited till the last second before pulling their parachutes and they continued their silent descent as X-23 took aim at the guards on the roof with her silenced sniper rifle. She dropped the first one and took out the other one on the opposite side of the roof before he even knew what was happening. Wrath was impressed by her skill, she was even better than SHIELD's intel said she'd be. Neither of them took any pleasure in killing, but nothing was going to stop them from rescuing those children and they'd do whatever they had too.

They landed on the roof and X-23 quickly cut herself free of her harness and helped her teammates hide the parachutes. Wrath strapped her rifle to his back and grabbed his assault rifle as they headed for the door leading to the stairs. They had to be quick, the rest of X-Force would be in position soon since everyone but Wolfsbane could fly and Cannonball could carry her. Boomer was going to hack RIGHT's computer systems from their main control room, giving both she and Cypher complete access to their network while X-23 and Wrath secured the children and prepped them for evac. Boomer alone was bad enough, but with Cypher's help they were going to cause so much chaos that RIGHT wouldn't know what hit them.

"Try before ya pry." Wrath said as he grabbed a key card off the nearest dead guard and opened the door. X-23 gave him an approving look, but Boomer sulked; she could muffle the sounds of her explosions and she never missed an opportunity to blow something up.

"You're no fun Wrath." She whispered as they made their way inside.

"Four guards." Wrath whispered as they reached the bottom of the stairs. _'I got the two in the middle you two get the ones on either side of them.'_ Wrath said telepathically as he linked to their minds. _'GO!'_ he yelled as they leaped out of the shadows, taking the RIGHT agents by surprise. Wrath slammed his fist into the nearest one, crushing his sternum and ribs as he sent him flying back down the hallway into the wall. X-23 impaled another agent with her claws as Boomer blasted one with a silenced bomb, knocking him senseless. Wrath whirled before the last agent could react and snapped his spine with a vicious kick to back. A normal human stood absolutely no chance against him with his strength, speed and reflexes; the fight was over before it had even started. He and X-23 were both impressed by Boomer's skill and they felt better about leaving her alone once they'd found the control room.

Cypher kept them apprised of the guards movements as Wrath lead the team to the control room. They quietly dispatched the guards and tied up the tech specialist for questioning later. By the time the rest of the team was in position, Boomer had hacked in and she and Cypher had found the children.

"Cannonball, I'm in, I knocked out the security system and the mutant detectors….but there's a lot of data here and the defense system program is heavily encrypted…..this is gonna take a minute." He explained. "Hodge is in the command center and Wrath is almost to the cellblock…..this is gonna be close." He added. Wrath and X-23 were heading for the cellblock and he had to work fast before Hodge figured out that he was breaking into the system. Boomer was busy downloading all the data she could on RIGHT's operations while keeping an eye on Wrath and X-23 through the security system.

"Heads up gorgeous, you've got company." Cypher warned as he noticed several RIGHT agents heading for the control room.

"Whatevs'…." Boomer said as she continued to monitor Wrath and X-23.

* * *

><p><strong>The Cellblock<strong>

"I really underestimated you." X-23 said as Wrath punched the last guard so hard he caved in his helmet and broke half the bones in his face. She was surprised by his skill and his ferocity, he wasn't like the others; he was brutal like she was and he didn't hold back. He hadn't killed the RIGHT agents, but he'd hurt them so badly, they'd be lucky to walk again and they'd never harm anyone else.

"Yeah...a lot of people have." Wrath said. "Wolverine, Cap and Shang Chi taught me how t' fight."

"Wait." she said as she drew her pistol. One of the wounded guards was still moving and he needed to be eliminated.

"This trash ain't worth wastin' bullets on." Wrath snorted as he stomped the wounded trooper in the face, knocking him out. He walked up to the door and with supreme effort, ripped it off its hinges. Everything had gone like clockwork, they'd been quiet and they'd been quick, but now they had eight civilians to deal with. There were seven children and one adult, four were pre-teens and two were injured, things just got a lot more difficult.

"We're X-Force, we're here to get ya'll out." He said as they all cowered in fear. He looked more terrifying than the fiends who'd put them in there and the black-haired woman with the claws was just as frightening. _'Filthy bastards, put these people in cages like animals….'_ He thought as he and X-23 rushed to their aid. There was an Asian woman trapped in the cage in the middle of the room and Wrath freed her first. She'd been badly beaten by the RIGHT agents, but she still had a defiant look in her eyes and he knew she could help them get the youngsters to safety.

"How bad are ya hurt?" He asked as he ripped the cage door off and she rushed to one of the nearby cages holding two of the younger children.

"I'm fine! Please, help me get them out!" she pleaded as Wrath ripped off the door, reuniting the family. Her nose was broken and one eye was swelled shut from the vicious beating she'd endured, but she'd suffered worse and her only concern was for her family.

"They yer kids?" he asked. She couldn't be much older than he was and she sure didn't look old enough to be their mother, but they were treating her like it.

"I'm their sister…..my name is Xian." She said.

"I'm Wrath, that's X-23." He told her as he freed a young teen named Callie. "I need you and Callie to help with those two little girls and yer kids….me and X are gonna be real busy in a minute." He said. It wouldn't take Cypher much longer to break the code and they had to be ready to run for the PACRAT as soon as Forge landed. Hopefully, the RIGHT would be so busy with the others that he could land without taking fire, but Cannonball had identified a nearby bunker they could shelter the prisoners in if they had to.

"Where's the rest of your team?!" she asked, becoming alarmed. That cyborg monster she'd tried to fight earlier was a one man army and she'd seen at least twenty armor suits when she'd tried to escape and save the others. There was no way these two could take them all and she was desperate to save her siblings.

"Dealin' with th' bastard that put ya'll in here." He answered as he freed a young teen who looked like Wolfsbane in one of her transitional forms.

"How old are you boy?" Wrath asked as he ripped the cage door off.

"Thirteen…" Nicholas answered, not sure what to make of his rescuer. Wrath ripped the inhibitor collar from around his neck, freeing his powers as X-23 freed the others.

"How bad is he hit?" Wrath asked X-23 as she examined Mark Sheppard's injury. He'd been shot in the leg and beaten up when he was captured, but it was nothing so serious that they couldn't move him.

"He will live." She replied as she took charge of the two young girls. She had the bedside manner of a butcher school dropout, but he trusted her judgment and he knew she wouldn't endanger those kids. He could sense her determination and he knew that everything Kiden had said about her was true. She wasn't a monster and there was nothing evil about her despite all the terrible things she'd been forced to do.

"Time to man up." Wrath told Nicholas as he finished bandaging Mark's leg. "Grab him, follow me and keep yer head down!" he ordered as Nicholas scooped up Mark and got ready to run. "I got point X, back me up!" he snapped as he put his rifle to his shoulder and headed down the hall as they followed at a distance. _'They're going to pay for what they did to that kid.'_ He thought.

* * *

><p><strong>The Control Room<strong>

"Move away from the computer or you're dead little girl!" the RIGHT agent ordered as he kicked open the door and took aim at Boomer.

"You forgot to say please…." Boomer scoffed as she psionically detonated the bomb she'd planted at the door, blasting the RIGHT agents back out into the hall. _'Idiot…'_ she thought. He wasn't going to shoot her and risk hitting the main computer, but she always had an ace in the hole, Domino had taught her well.

"I've got it, get ready to move!" Cypher said as he finally broke the encryption. He jammed every door in the complex, locked down the hangar so no more armored soldiers could get out and set the automated defense system to target the RIGHT agents. Boomer finished the download and ran to meet up with Wrath and X-23; all hell was breaking loose and they'd need her help.

* * *

><p><strong>Command <strong>**Center**

"Ah don't like it…..somethin' don't feel right…." Cannonball said as Warpath stepped out into the hall and opened fire on the armored soldiers guarding the entrance.

"We willnae get another chance like this!" Wolfsbane reminded him.

"Ok….Siryn, get th' door!" he yelled as she tore the armored doors off their hinges with her powerful scream.

"Damn! You were right!" Warpath cursed as they charged into the control room and found it dark and empty.

"Mutant detected!" a menacing robotic voice said as a pair of red eyes blazed in the darkness. The sinister chorus continued as more pairs of eyes shown in the darkness and the team realized they were surrounded.

"Sentinels…." Wolfsbane gasped.

"Didn't see this comin'…." Siryn said.

* * *

><p><strong>The Control Center<strong>

"Laura!" Boomer screamed as X-23 used her body to shield the younger children from incoming fire.

"Stay focused Boomer!" She yelled as she healed up and tore into the RIGHT agent, slashing him to death with her claws. Wrath didn't have time to reload, but he flew at the remaining RIGHT agents and armored soldier in a rage, slamming his fist through the chest plate of the suit. Blood and oil splattered on the wall as he whirled and attacked the remaining agents with X-23. Several more armored soldiers attacked from behind, but they were not match for Boomer who was guarding the rear.

Boomer was no stranger to the horror of battle, but she was still shocked by X-23 and Wrath. Warpath said he was a one man slaughter-house, but she hadn't fully understood just how brutal and frightening he could be. His demeanor had changed as soon as they'd hit the ground and his ferocity rivaled X-23 as they tore through the RIGHT agents. It was hard to accept that someone who'd been so kind to Noriko and such a gentleman to Rahne the day before could be so savage and bloodthirsty now. At least he had a good reason she thought as she looked at the kids, cowering in fear as the battle raged around them.

"Be strong for them Callie…..it'll be over soon." Boomer said, trying to comfort the traumatized teen. Madelyn and Haley, the youngest captives, were crying and clinging to her for comfort and it was all she could do to hold herself together for them. Beside her, Xian watched as Wrath hurled a RIGHT agent against the wall, shattering his bones and X-23 impaled two more with her claws. She'd never seen such ferocious fighters and she wondered what soul-shattering horror had forged them into such lethal weapons.

"_Forge! We need evac! RIGHT is goin' ape-shit down here!"_ Wrath yelled into the radio as he reloaded.

"_It's not looking good outside either."_ Forge told him. _"I've lost contact with the assault team….I'll have a look on the next pass! Get to the landing zone!"_he ordered.

"_Cannonball?!"_ X-23 yelled as she tried to raise him on the radio. "They are jamming us." She said ominously.

"I got somethin' fer that." Wrath answered. _'Sam?! What's going on?!'_ He asked as he telepathically linked the team's minds. _'Sentinels!'_Sam yelled. _'We're surrounded, you know what to do!'_ he ordered.

"We can't just leave them!" Boomer yelled.

"You are a soldier Boomer, you know the risk and you know your duty! Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment!" X-23 said.

"Both of ya'll shut up." Wrath said. "Sam _always_ has a back up plan….we ain't done yet." He told them. "Damn there's a lot of 'em." He said as he scanned the area with his telepathy. _"Forge, I need an air-strike on ma order, cut those RIGHT bastards in half!"_he ordered. "X….get these civilians to the bunker and dig in till me and Boomer can help clear out these sentinels." He said. He didn't want to leave X-23 alone, but these sentinels had seriously compromised the mission and he needed all the firepower he could get, so he needed Boomer. Cannonball was a better leader and it was his backup plan, but it fell to Wrath to execute it and he prayed he was making the right decision in sending X-23 to the bunker.

"We do not have another choice Wrath….I will protect them." She said, sensing the guilt and turmoil he was feeling about leaving her alone. They weren't supposed to separate, but the mission had become desperate and there was no other way. She could easily handle the agents in that bunker and once it was clear, it should be easy to protect the others.

"Boomer, make us a door, quietly." He said as she blasted a hole through the wall to avoid the armored soldiers waiting on them at the main entrance. _'We're coming Sam….I'm gonna' puppet string on of those guys and make him attack Hodge and the others while Boomer hits the sentinels.'_ He said as they made their way outside.

'_Hurry up Mike! It's getting ugly out here!'_ Sam answered. He still had the situation under control, but this was cutting it a lot closer than he liked. Clearly Hodge had suspected something, but it seemed they'd still managed to catch him off guard.

"Laura, call fer back up if ya need it….I don't want t' bury another friend." Wrath said as they parted ways.

"What are we gonna do about Hodge?" Boomer asked. "He's like a one man army now…..he beat most of the X-Men when he attacked us the first time." She told him.

"I know….Sam told me about it…" Wrath answered. "We've got t' regroup with th' others and attack him together….he's got psi-shields and I'm not strong enough to break 'em." He said.

"I can help." Xian said as she joined them. "I nearly had him when he attacked me after I escaped." She said.

"What th' hell are ya doin' here?!" Wrath hissed. "Get yer ass back with th' others! I'm not gonna be responsible fer you gettin killed!" he told her.

"You need my help!" She said. "I'm a telepath too! Together we can take Hodge!" she told him.

"Yer a civilian! Ya don't know how t' fight! You'll be in ma way!" Wrath snapped.

"My parents were murdered and I had to save Nga and Leong myself! I know how to survive!" she yelled.

"Take care of yer brother and sister damn it!" Wrath said.

"I _**am**_!" she snapped. "You guys don't know what you're dealing with…..he's a monster and he'll kill all of us!" she told him.

"I fought in th' Millennium War….I killed Mikhail Rasputin and she helped kill Apocalypse! _**We**_ know what we're doin'! Now get back!" Wrath roared.

"NO!" she yelled. "I'm fighting for my family and you'll have to shoot me to stop me!" she said defiantly.

"X-23…..Xian's coming with us…." Boomer said as Wrath finally relented.

* * *

><p><strong>The Battle<strong>

"Damnable fool!" Cameron Hodge shrieked as he snatched the base commander up in his cybernetic tentacles. "I told you to be ready for them!" he yelled as he began to choke him.

"They're more powerful than you said they'd be sir…..and that big one's got a mini-gun…." He wheezed.

"I'll suffer your incompetence no longer!" Hodge hissed as he broke his neck and hurled his body to the ground. "I'll handle this myself!" he yelled as he assumed command of the battle. Most of his soldiers were either trapped or killed by the malfunctioning defense system and Siryn and Warpath had already taken out ten armored soldiers along with several sentinels. Still, he was confident he could capture them with his remaining men and the Nimrod prototypes Bolivar Trask had provided and if that failed, he'd kill them himself and reclaim the prisoners.

'_That is one __**ugly **__bastard…..'_ Wrath thought as he saw Cameron Hodge for the first time. He had a huge mechanical body with four insect-like legs, two arms tipped with metal tentacles and he even had a tail. He was armed to the teeth with a rocket launcher and several different guns as well as sharp bards on the end of each leg. _'You ready Shan?'_ he asked as she nodded. _'Stay hidden and be ready when I tell you.'_ He ordered.

"_Forge! Light 'em up!"_ he yelled as he and Xian seized control of two armored soldiers and forced them to open fire on their comrades and Hodge. The RIGHT stopped attacking the building the assault team had taken refuge in and turned to face the new threat. Above them the PACRAT de-cloaked and opened fire with it's guns, tearing most of the armored soldiers to pieces and destroying the remaining Mark I Sentinels. Hodge managed to escape the strafing with only minor damage and he immediately fired several missiles at the PACRAT as it passed. Forge jammed the throttle and fired off flares, narrowly escaping being shot down.

"Forge, get out of here!" Cannonball ordered. "Wrath, take care of th' soldiers! Th' rest of ya'll on me, take out th' sentinels!" he ordered as he blasted through the wall and slammed straight through the chest of one of the menacing Nimrod prototypes. The evil machines were ten feet tall, resembling a cross between the Ironman armor and the ultimate version of Nimrod himself. They weren't nearly as durable as the future version, but they were all linked and could adapt to different mutant powers to a degree.

Hodge leaped into the fray, lashing at Siryn with his tentacles and striking Warpath, disabling his gun. Meanwhile Wrath, still in control of an armored soldier, leaped and grabbed hold of another, emptying the magazine of his assault rifle into his chest, splattering blood, oil and hydraulic fluid everywhere. The remaining soldiers began to retreat under the relentless onslaught of Wrath and Xian and the tide began to turn for X-Force.

"Boomer! Get down!" Wolfsbane screamed as she leaped and smashed the sentinels head as it took aim at her friend. Boomer had taken out four of them, but they'd begun to adapt their armor to better withstand her bombs and she was running out of energy. Wolfsbane savagely tore the robot apart and saved her friend from a horrible death.

"Get after it Wrath! It can't lock on to ya!" Cannonball ordered as Wrath launched his last grenade at the sentinel and the leaped onto it, beating it into submission. His knuckles were cut to the bone despite his armored gloves, but he was so angry he didn't even feel the pain. The sight of the Nimrod prototypes reminded him of the battle on Genosha and he was reliving every horror he'd seen as he fought them with all the power he had. _'I won't quit! I won't let them die!'_ he thought as he tore into another sentinel. His armor was severely damaged and he'd taken several flesh wounds already, but the pain only fueled his anger and drove him to fight harder. He was so angry he was attacking almost on instinct as he flew at another sentinel and Cannonball wondered if he'd gone completely berserk like Wolverine. Warpath was in a frenzy as well, devastating the sentinels with his incredible strength and reflexes.

"Bloody hell! It didnae even make a dent!" Wolfsbane exclaimed as Boomer blasted Hodge with her most powerful bomb as he came at them. Hodge's cyborg body had been upgraded with a shield generator and he could block most energy based attacks and projectiles. Fortunately, he hadn't counted on Siryn's incredible power and her devastating scream severely damaged him, causing several systems to reboot.

"Shan! Now!" Wrath yelled as he leaped on Hodge's back, taking advantage of the shield being knocked out. Boomer's powers weren't limitless and she still needed time to recover from all the fighting. Wrath and Xian's combined efforts broke through Hodge's psi-shields and she forced him to the ground as Wrath ripped open the panel on his back and tore out the circuitry controlling the shield generator. Wrath's gifted intellect and his knowledge of engineering were being put to good use as he took Hodge apart piece by piece.

"Why are you doing this?!" Hodge screamed in fear and anger. "You're a human! You're one of us! Why are you helping these filthy mutants?!"

"Shut yer damn mouth! I'm nothin' like you!" Wrath screamed as he disabled Hodge's rocket launcher. "Screw this! I'll just rip yer head off!" Wrath snarled as he leaped onto his neck.

"I think not!" Hodge yelled as he finally overpowered them and broke free of their possession. "Now die!" he yelled as he lashed out at Wrath with one of his spiked legs, impaling him through the shoulder as he tried to block. He hurled Wrath into the side of the building, flattened Boomer with is tail and blasted Warpath with his energy cannons. Cannonball and Siryn were still busy with the last sentinel and couldn't stop him as he leaped onto Xian and impaled her left leg with the vicious barbs on his legs as she screamed in agony. "I only wish I could make this last longer you filthy mutant bitch." he hissed as he prepared to finish her. "When I'm done with your brother and sister they'll…." He never got the chance to finish as Cannonball slammed into him, knocking him away from her.

"Hold still!" Wolfsbane ordered as she came to Xian's aid. She was horribly injured and bleeding profusely, but she was still conscious and Wolfsbane knew what to do. She ripped off Xian's belt and used it for a tourniquet, clinching down with her super strength and stopping the bleeding as Xian screamed in pain. "This is _really_goin' tae hurt." She warned as she clamped off the severed blood vessels. Xian cried out in agony, the pain was so intense she passed out, but Wolfsbane saved her life. "Here, this will help…." Wolfsbane said as she gave her a little pain-killer. "I'm sorry….yui're in shock….I cannae give ye anymore." She said as she quickly dragged Xian behind cover as she regained consciousness.

"How are you still alive?!" Hodge yelled as Warpath and Wrath rejoined the battle.

"Your aim sucks!" Warpath snapped. "And it's gonna take a lot more than that pop gun to stop me!"

"Do ya really think _this_ is the worst thing that's ever happened t' me?!" Wrath sneered as he popped his shoulder back into socket. Hodge's bard had gone clear through, shredding his flesh and leaving him a bloody mess, but he wasn't about to back down. He'd suffered worse and his healing factor was preventing him from bleeding out so he could still fight. Hodge quickly lashed out with his electrified tentacles and immobilized Siryn and Warpath as Boomer hurled her bombs at him.

"Filthy little brat!" Hodge shrieked. "I'll tear you apart!" he yelled as he unleashed more tentacles at Boomer, only to have them shot in half by Wrath with his pistols. "Damn you!" he yelled as he whirled and slammed one of his legs into him, knocking him away as Cannonball blasted at him, trying to free Warpath and Siryn. He knew Siryn could pulverize him in his weakened condition, but he was still a match for all of them.

'_Wrath! Get on your feet! You and Boomer have to distract him long enough for me to dive bomb him!'_ Cannonball ordered as he prepared to blast off.

Wolfsbane unleashed a blood-chilling howl and plowed into him like a freight train, knocking him off his feet and sending him crashing into the dirt. Seeing them all being brutalized like that was just too much for her and she'd unleashed the full fury of her mutation. She was 8'0" 750lbs of pure fury and superhuman strength, hell-bent on destroying Hodge. He had no time to recover or react as she attacked, ripping off one of his legs and tearing through his armor with her claws.

"No! Get off me you freak!" He screamed as she leaped onto his back. He struck at her with his tail, but she tore it off and smashed her fist into him, knocking him down again. She ripped off another leg as he stabbed at her and grabbed his head in her claws as he continued to struggle against her. "NO!" he screamed as she wrenched his head sideways, severing most of his neural connections and causing his body to collapse. She ripped his head off as she stood up and then hurled it into the dirt at her feet.

"Rahne….he can't hurt us anymore…..ya need t' calm down." Cannonball said gently, trying to calm her. She couldn't control herself when she was like this and she was just as likely to attack them as Hodge. Donald Pierce had kidnapped and tortured Rahne and Roberto years earlier and experimented with their powers, causing them to drastically increase. Poor Rahne had turned into an animal and attacked everyone until Moira and Spiderman had helped her regain control. Rahne was strong, but even she had her limits and she'd reached them today. Wrath reached out to her, but she snarled and slashed at him with her claws, cutting his forearm as he fell back in pain.

"Rahne…..it's me, Tabby." Boomer said as she approached her feral friend. Wolfsbane growled at her and backed away, deep inside she was fighting for control, but the wolf was winning. "Please don't do this, remember who you are….and what you mean to me." She cried as her eyes filled with tears.

"Remember what you mean to all of us." Wrath said as he linked her mind to all of theirs, letting her feel their love for her. Wolfsbane shrank back to her natural form and began to cry she was so frightened and ashamed of what she'd done. She felt like a monster and she was horrified that she'd hurt Wrath and snarled at Boomer like that.

"I'm so sorry…." She sobbed. "I'm an animal…."

"You're not an animal, you're our little sister and we love you." Siryn said as she and Boomer held her in their arms. Wrath came to comfort her as well; he'd snapped in battle before and he didn't hold it against her. He hated the fact that he hadn't been strong enough to subdue Hodge earlier; that she'd been forced to resort to this to save them.

"I've got tae get back tae Shan…." Wolfsbane said as she regained her composure.

* * *

><p>"Damn it, Mike…" Cannonball said as they came to Xian's aid. She was pale from the loss of blood and the pain of her injuries and they needed to get her back to the mansion immediately if they were going to have any chance of saving her leg. It looked like a lost cause, it was mutilated and the clamps sticking out of the wounds were a disturbing sight even for them. Wolfsbane tried to loosen the tourniquet a little, but she started bleeding immediately so she had to tighten it again.<p>

"Leave him alone…..you needed my help." Xian said weakly. "Both of us together could barely hold him down long enough to take out his shields…." She gasped.

"We'll talk about it later Mike….we need to get these people out of here." Sam said. "Where's Laura?"

"In th' bunker with th' civilians…." Holmes said. He felt horrible and he'd never forgive himself for what had happened to Xian. Sam felt horrible as well, he'd done an excellent job of planning despite the short notice, but the last thing he'd expected was sentinels. Trask Industries was a legitimate cybernetics company with numerous government contracts and the last thing anyone expected was for them to aid known terrorists like RIGHT. It made no sense to sell arms to these fanatics when there was more money to be made from doing business legally. As awful and costly as this battle had been, it just might be the one that finally shut Trask down once their involvement with RIGHT became public knowledge. Still, that was no comfort to any of them as Xian cried out in pain again.

"Forge, we need evac, we've got wounded." Sam said as he saw the PACRAT de-cloak in the distance and begin flying toward them.

"She's not answering!" Theresa said, as everyone became alarmed. Everyone but Rahne ran for the bunker and Holmes immediately began searching for her with his telepathy. He hadn't wanted to leave her alone and he was terrified that something had happened to her.

"Rahne!" Holmes screamed as he came upon the horrific sight. Laura was lying in front of a wrecked sentinel, burned beyond recognition; barely alive and in unbearable pain. She'd taken out two of the Nimrod prototypes by herself, but she'd paid the price for her bravery and given her life to save the civilians. The second sentinel had analyzed her powers as she fought off the first one and it had used a flamethrower on her to overwhelm her healing factor. She was burned over 99% of her body; even her lungs and throat were burned and her injuries had overwhelmed her healing factor. Anyone else would have already died and her powers were only prolonging her suffering. She might have stood a chance if she was an adult, but her powers weren't fully mature yet like Wolverine's and she was dying.

"Kids…..safe?" she choked out as Holmes raised his mask and knelt down beside her, taking her hand in his. Laura's lungs had nearly given out and her eyelids had been burned away; she was blind and dying in agony, but she was still thinking about the children.

"Yeah…..they're fine, you saved 'em." He told her as he fought to control his emotions. _'God….I know people say she's just a clone and she's not real, but I don't believe it…I know what I feel in her right now and I know she has a soul…..she can't ask for salvation, she doesn't know how….so I'm asking for her. It's not her fault, she's never had a choice, she never had a chance. Take her away from all this; she's had to pay for other people's sins long enough.'_ He prayed as he tried to comfort her. He hoped Rahne had enough painkiller left to make her final moments bearable; there was no hope for her and he couldn't stand to see her suffering like this. He tried to enter her mind to turn off the pain receptors in her brain, but her mental defenses were too strong for him and her pain and suffering began to overwhelm him.

Tabitha and Theresa were both tough and they didn't give in to emotion on missions, but neither could hold back their tears as the awful realization that Laura was dying hit them. Her life had been nothing but misery and pain and even though she'd died so these children could live; it didn't make her loss any more bearable for them. Even Holmes and James were visibly affected, as was Rahne as she dropped to her knees beside Laura weeping bitterly.

'_Tell me I'm wrong and there's something you can do for her.'_ Holmes said as he entered Rahne's mind.

'_No….there's not enough time…'_ Rahne said as she pulled her last vial of painkiller out of her kit. The Shiar medical equipment at the institute _might_ be able to heal her, but they were too far away; she would never survive the flight home. Her injuries were so severe that she didn't think even Josh would be able to save her.

'_That's all you have?'_ Holmes asked.

'_It's not enough…..'_ Rahne told him. _'But it's all I can do for her….it won't hurt as much.'_ She said as she gave Laura the injection.

"Laura….I know ya still got doubts about yerself….but ya proved who ya really are today, yer're not a weapon, yer're a hero." Holmes said as he wiped his eyes. James was shocked; he'd always thought Holmes was too much like Cable. He thought he was hard and cold and always put the mission first, but he was devastated by Laura's loss and he made no effort to hide it. He couldn't break her mental defenses to ease her pain and it was unbearable for him to feel her suffering and not be able to help her.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Rahne said, quoting John 15:13 to Laura. "Dinnae be afraid Laura, ye'll be wit' God today." Rahne told her held her other hand and began to pray for her.

"I'm sorry Laura…." James said as he, Theresa and Tabitha knelt down with the others beside her. When Illyana had died he'd made a vow that he wouldn't let anyone else die, he'd protect them no matter what, but he'd failed. As strong as he was and as hard as he'd fought, he hadn't been able to save Laura and even though he didn't show it, he was just as upset as the others.

"I'm not loosing anyone else." Sam said as watched Laura fight for her life with every agonized breath. He was out of options and he'd be damned if he was just going to give up and watch Laura die like this. James looked up as Sam activated a small homing beacon.


	4. X-Force 4: Dreams End

The X-Force, a special operations unit formed by Charles Xavier's former students, the New Mutants, stand ready to strike at the enemies of the mutant race. Their aggressive approach to the conflict between humanity and the mutants has put them at odds with their mentor and the X-Men. However, with the mutant nation of Genosha reduced to ashes and anti-mutant hysteria raging after the war with Apocalypse, the X-Force may be the best hope for the survival of the mutants.

**Previously**

The peace of the previous day was shattered as Holmes and Monet began what promises to be an epic feud; much to the displeasure of Sam and Theresa who are trying to keep the peace with the X-Men. To make matters worse, Danielle's anger and resentment toward normal humans and SHIELD threatened team unity and her friendship with Rahne. X-Force couldn't even finish a meal together before Danielle, Tabitha, Rahne and Holmes were all embroiled in conflict. Sam and Theresa quickly put an end to the infighting, but now they both question their decision on put Danielle back on the team. Rahne was very upset by the confrontation and tried to pray about her situation, but her quiet moment was interrupted by another of Josh Foley's unwanted romantic advances.

X-Force began training for a dangerous mission against the anti-mutant terrorist group, RIGHT, led by the deranged cyborg, Cameron Hodge. Unfortunately, their carefully made plans unraveled when it was revealed RIGHT was much further along in their plan than the team realized. With young mutants lives at stake the team had no choice but to go in immediately, trusting their expert training and their secret member Cypher to bring them victory. Sam and Theresa led most of X-Force to attack Hodge while Holmes, Tabitha and Laura (X-23) rescued the captives before Hodge could test the rebuilt Gengineering lab on them. The assault team was surprised by prototype Nimrod sentinels, but one of the captives, Xian Coy Manh (Karma), helped turn the tide of battle. Xian was seriously injured by Hodge and Rahne had to finish him off by unleashing her ultimate werewolf form; nearly losing control in the process.

X-Force found the captives unharmed, but Laura had been horribly burned by the last of the Nimrod sentinels. Her injuries overwhelmed her healing factor and there was nothing Rahne could do to save her. Holmes held himself responsible for both Xian and Laura and he was deeply affected. Sam always has a plan, but it seems that even he is out of options….or is he?

This Issue:

X-Force: Cannonball, Boomer, Siryn, Warpath, Wrath, Wolfsbane, Mirage

X-Men: Wolverine, Beast, Cyclops, Emma, Dr. Reyes, Storm, Dr. Nemesis, Forge, Professor X

Students: X-23, Mercury, Elixir, Prodigy, Wolf Cub, DJ, Dryad, Anole, Rockslide, Hellion, Surge, Pixie, Tag, Loa

Faculty Members: Karma, Sharon Friedlander, Annie Ghazikhanian

* * *

><p><strong><strong>X-Force # 4: Dreams End<strong>**

**RIGHT Genetics Facility**

"I'm not loosing anyone else." Sam said as watched Laura fight for her life with every agonized breath. He was out of options and he'd be damned if he was just going to give up and watch Laura die like this. James looked up as Sam activated a small homing beacon.

"Sam?" James asked as he saw him activate the beacon.

"No choice Jimmy…ya'll aren't expendable." Sam said. The others were startled by a roar and a blinding flash of pink light. Everyone but Sam was shocked to see their six armed, silver-haired nemesis Spiral standing before them. Spiral had briefly aided them in their battle against Apocalypse, but as always, she had ulterior motives and none of them trusted her. She'd also clashed with Holmes during his time with the Avengers and both were shocked to see each other again.

"I knew you'd reconsider _Cannonballs_." Spiral said provocatively as she continued to glare at Holmes.

"What the hell are you doing here you skeevy tramp?!" Tabitha demanded. Spiral gave her a disdainful look and flipped her off with all six hands. Tabitha had gotten the better of her in their last battle and she'd take any opportunity to infuriate or humiliate her.

"Why do waste your time with this little brat?" Spiral asked as she approached Sam. "Imagine what_** I** _could do for you…."

"Do I look like I'm in th' mood fer yer bullshit?!" Sam yelled. "I need ya t' teleport Laura and Xian to th' institute…what do ya want t' do it?!" he asked.

"Your loss…." Spiral sighed. "I don't have any jobs lined up at the moment…..but I'm sure I can think of something…."

"This can't be happening…." Tabitha exclaimed in disbelief.

"What choice do you have Boom-Boom?" Spiral asked. "Your little friends char-broiled and I'm her only hope." She sneered looking at Laura. Tabitha was so angry she wanted to blast her to ashes, but Laura and Xian's lives were too important and she held back.

"Stop wasting time!" James yelled at her. Laura was choking to death right there in front of him and he couldn't stand it. He knew how hateful and cruel Spiral could be and he was sick at the thought of Sam being in her debt.

"You know what Sam? I don't think I want anything from you after all." Spiral said. She could see how desperate they were to save Laura and she knew she could get exactly what she wanted from him if she kept being cruel. She might be able to get the whole team to go on a mission for her if she played this right.

"Think you can teleport faster than I can put lead in yer ass ya squid armed witch?!" Holmes growled as his mask snapped back into place and he pointed his pistol at her. "Ya don't want anything from him?! Well, I _know_ ya want _somethin'_ from me." He said as he cocked the hammer. Spiral hadn't expected this, but she decided to take Holmes' bargain. He didn't seem entirely stable now and she knew she could manipulate _him_ more easily than the whole team.

"Mike! SHUT UP!" Sam ordered. He didn't want anyone else involved with Spiral and Holmes was ruining his plan. Holmes might have a genius level IQ, but Spiral was devious and he might really be in over his head now.

"We've got a deal." Spiral said coldly. "And if you don't honor it, I'll….."

"If they don't make it….neither will you." Holmes interrupted. He hated Spiral and he was sick of her ridiculous posturing; she had what she wanted and Laura didn't have any time left. He wasn't going to let Sam pay for his mistakes and put himself in her power. He'd lost his best friend in the war, he felt responsible for Xian and Laura and there was no way he was going to lose Sam too.

"Pick her up fleabag, I don't want to smell like burned bacon the rest of the day." Spiral scoffed as Rahne picked up Laura as gently as she could and carried her to Xian's side so Spiral could teleport them all to the institute. "You better be ready when I come to collect." Spiral said; casting a menacing look in Holmes' direction as she and the others disappeared in a flash of pink light.

"Damn it Mike! What th' hell was that?!" Sam yelled. "Ah had a plan damn it!"

"I'm not losin' anybody else!" Holmes yelled back, getting visibly agitated.

"Michael….I know ye feel responsible fer Laura, but ye didn't bring her on the mission and none of us could have planned fer the sentinels." Theresa said calmly. "She's got a chance now, Josh is an omega level healer….he can save her." she told him. Holmes' PTSD had gone untreated for too long and seeing Xian and Laura suffering like that had pushed him past his limit. She'd seen this too many times, soldiers pushed beyond their limits, forced to endure horrors no one should ever have to see, forced make impossible choices and then cast aside when they finally broke and couldn't take it anymore.

"Holmes!" Sam yelled, getting right in his face. "We don't have time fer a pity party! Pull yerself together soldier! This thing ain't over and Ah need ya dialed in! Do you get me?!" he barked. Holmes' demeanor instantly changed and while it was obvious he was still angry and hurt, he _did_ seem much more focused again.

"I get you." Holmes said coldly. He was stubborn and sometimes a little arrogant, but he was a professional soldier who followed orders and kept his head in battle. Sam had never seen him give in so completely to his emotions that he acted without thinking and he felt bad that he hadn't recognized just how broken he was. He realized Holmes never had time to deal with the loss of his best friend or all he'd been through and he hated himself for yelling at him and being so heartless, but he couldn't have him going to pieces on a mission like that so he'd dealt with it the only way he could.

"Good." Sam said as he handed Holmes back his assault rifle. "Now you and Jimmy grab all th' weapons and ammo ya can and get back to th' RAT….Cypher says we got SHIELD inbound ETA twenty minutes." He ordered.

"Fashionably late as usual." Tabitha said sarcastically.

"You and Terry grab those kids and get 'em secure, while me and Forge get Hodge….he's not gettin' away again." He told her as Forge joined them. Holmes and James headed for the armory as Tabitha and Theresa blasted open the door to the bunker and led the children to safety of the PACRAT. Sam and Forge went after Hodge while Cypher finished cleaning out all of RIGHT's bank accounts. Hodge had accumulated millions of dollars for his war against the mutant race, but now all his dirty money would go toward paying X-Force, maintaining the PACRAT and their other equipment and helping the kids and their families if they had any. Sam made sure X-Force didn't take any of the professor's money; they financed their own operation with the money they stole from their enemies.

* * *

><p><strong>Outside the Command Center<strong>

"How's that deal with the devil working out for you Cameron?" Forge asked as he and Sam walked up to the smoking ruin of Hodge's mechanized body. He'd sold his soul to the demon N'astirh for immortality in an attempt to take revenge on the X-Men after the fall of Genosha. He'd kidnapped Angel to lure the others, but his evil plan was undone by the newest member of the team, Psylocke. She freed the others and Hodge discovered too late that while the demon had granted him immortality, he was far from indestructible. Psylocke decapitated him to save Angel, but he survived thanks to the demon's unholy magic and though his mind had become unhinged from the trauma, he was still a formidable foe. He'd returned in a surprise attack on the institute several years ago, nearly killing the New Mutants and many of the X-Men. Fortunately, Theresa and Sam were able to free the others and stop Hodge, but not before he'd severely injured Rahne, and Forge who was trying to protect her. Hodge had escaped, but now his reign of terror was at an end, Sam and Forge were going to make sure of it.

"Go to hell you mutant trash!" Hodge shrieked, glaring up at them from down in the dirt where Rahne had thrown him. His smug superiority was gone, all his plans for revenge were utterly destroyed and even the sentinels had failed to bring him victory against his hated enemies. He was completely helpless thanks to Rahne and despite his immortality, he was terrified.

"Ah hope that things sound proof…." Sam said as he snatched Hodge up by his neural connections and dropped him into the stasis capsule Forge was carrying.

"Once it's activated he won't be able to talk." Forge told him. "We can keep him in suspended animation forever if we have too….he won't be conscious." He explained.

"Better than he deserves." Sam said, thinking about what would have happened to those kids if the team hadn't arrived in time. He and the other New Mutants were only children when the X-Men freed the mutants of Genosha, but he knew about all the horrible experiments the government had done to turn the mutants into living weapons with no regard for their own lives. Hodge was about to unleash that same nightmare on these innocent children and he didn't deserve mercy.

"You can't do this to me!" Hodge yelled.

"Shut up before Ah fergit Ah'm better than you!" Sam snapped as he slammed the lid of the container shut on him. "Make sure ya hide that….I don't want him scaring th' kids anymore." Sam said as he and Forge started back toward the PACRAT. They'd already seen too much of the real world and he didn't want them exposed to satanic magic as well.

"I didn't think Larry Trask would go this far….his father maybe, but this….this is insane." Forge said as they walked past the mangled assault suits, wrecked sentinels and dead RIGHT agents.

"Me neither…but they're not getting away with it, not this time." Sam said. Bolivar Trask wanted mutants exterminated, but Larry, who had replaced his father as head of Trask Industries, was focused on the business. Trask Industries was the worlds leading manufacturer of cybernetic limbs and in the wake of the Genoshan Purge, Larry was eager to focus on the good the company had done. The sentinel program had been put on hold after the purge, but since the war it had been reactivated, albeit with restrictions. Larry had no love for mutants either and while he was focused on protecting humans from violent mutants like Magneto, he recognized the danger posed by the Nimrod artificial intelligence.

"SHIELD will have to step in after this." Forge told him.

"Like last time?" Sam asked sarcastically.

"Sam….your team…"

"They can take it Forge." Sam said bluntly. "Too many people have died; we have to end this now." He said.

"It _never_ ends Sam." Forge said.

"Do ya think Ah don't know that?!" he yelled. "Do ya think Ah wanna throw Mike back in th' meat grinder after what he's been through?!" He yelled again. "Ah just saw ma little sister turn into an animal! Tabby still has nightmares and wakes me up cryin'…..Terry and Jimmy are barely holdin' it together and Ah probably killed Laura!" He said. "Ah've never believed in that "ends justifies th' means" bullshit; but sixteen million people are dead because of those things and _they_ volunteered to stop them. Ah'm doin' th' best Ah can fer 'em Forge….but right now, we don't have a choice, they were this close to destroyin' th' institute and we're all prepared t' die to keep that from happenin'." Sam told him as they walked up the ramp of the PACRAT.

* * *

><p><strong>The PACRAT<strong>

"Put him down here." Theresa told Nicholas as he laid Mark down on the collapsible stretcher they kept in the hold of the PACRAT. The young wolf mutant curled up against the wall next to Mark's stretcher with a blank stare on his furry face. He was trying to process everything that had just happened to him, but he was only thirteen and he was so shaken he didn't know what to do. He'd been kidnapped, beaten and caged like an animal; then he'd been rescued by two of the most terrifying people he'd ever seen and subjected to unspeakable violence as they fought to save him. He'd just seen a girl, barely older than himself, burned alive screaming in pain and it was just too much for him. He didn't know who X-Force was and he didn't know who was going to take care of him now, or where he was going to live. He fought back against his animal instincts; the urge to run was almost overpowering, but he was an orphan and he had nowhere else to go.

"Where did he learn first aid? Butcher school?" Theresa asked as she changed the field dressing on Mark's wound. She'd been shot before; she knew how bad it hurt and she wished Rahne was there to take care of him.

"He was kind of in a hurry." Mark said bluntly. He was older and better able to deal with what had just happened to him, but he was still on edge and he didn't realize Theresa was joking.

"Wha's ye're name?" Theresa asked, changing the subject. She hadn't really meant anything by what she'd said; X-Force often teased each other to lighten the mood and relieve stress and none of them took it seriously. Mark was sixteen and he'd never really had a father figure in his life, so naturally he saw a man like Holmes as a role model.

"Mark Sheppard…..and that's Nick Gleason." He said, nodding toward the still trembling werewolf next to him. "The elf chick is Callie Betto…she controls plants and Madelyn and Haley are sisters….they've got some kind of earth power, but they're too young to _really_ use it." He explained. "Those two are Nga and Leong; they're from Thailand, but their sister said they're really Vietnamese….I don't think they have powers yet." He said. They were both pre-teens so it was natural; Theresa was really surprised that Madelyn and Haley had powers already; they couldn't be more than eight or nine.

"Don't make fun of my ears Mark!" Callie snapped. She was fifteen, very tall and very pretty, with long, light brown hair, green eyes and a darker skin tone like Laura. Her pointed ears were the only outward sign of her mutation and she'd obviously been teased relentlessly about them.

"We can't all look like a Greek god like you do!" she spat. Mark was blessed with an incredible body and rugged good lucks; his dark hair and blue eyes won him a lot of attention from girls and he was very flirtatious.

"Callie….I wasn't trying to be mean…..that came out wrong, I think you're beautiful." Mark said, trying his best to apologize to her. They'd all bonded over the past week of captivity and he really respected the quiet strength that Callie possessed.

"Why are we even talking about this?!" She snapped. "That girls dead because of us!" she said as he voice broke and her eyes filled with tears. Callie couldn't be strong any longer and broke down crying as Theresa wrapped her in a blanket and sat down next to her. Mark was sick over what had happened to Laura as well and he wished he'd been able to save her, but his powers only worked if he was listening to music. She was the bravest person he'd ever met and she didn't deserve to die so horribly, but he'd never forget what she'd done for him and he wanted to honor her memory, despite his fear.

"Laura's not dead." Theresa said as she let Callie cry on her shoulder. "Mike made a deal to get her back to the institute….we've got the best equipment and a healer there…..she's going to make it." She said, praying that was true.

"Who?" Callie asked, between sobs. "Do you mean Wrath?"

"Yeah….I know he probably seems like a monster Callie, but he's really a nice guy under all that armor." Tabitha told her. Callie had grown up in a stable, loving home and she'd never been exposed to violence, but she wasn't scared of Mike or Laura; they'd saved her and she knew they had to be good people.

"His real name is Michael, I'm Theresa and that's Tabitha." She said, pointing to the beautiful blonde sitting with the youngsters. "James is the big guy with the war paint and Sam is our leader. Rahne was the little red headed werewolf ye might have seen….she's our medic so she had to go with Laura."

"What happened to my sister?" Leong asked. He was trying to be brave for Nga, but he was worried sick about Xian and he wished she hadn't gone to fight Hodge again. She'd tried to escape and free the others two days earlier, but he'd defeated her and the guards had given her an awful beating.

"She's got hurt fighting the bad guys with us." Tabitha said as she sat beside Leong and Nga. "We sent her to th' doctor with our friend Laura." She told them. "She's going to be ok." She added reassuringly as she continued to comfort them. The six year old twins were remarkably calm given all they'd just been through and it was obvious they'd seen a lot of hardship in their short lives. Tabitha couldn't get Xian's words about her parents being murdered out of her mind and she prayed with the twins for her recovery; she was all they had left in the world.

She turned her attention to Madelyn and Haley; they were a little older than the twins, but they seemed to have bonded with them after their horrible ordeal and Tabitha was glad they had each other. They were all frightened and unsure of what to expect at the institute, just as she'd been when she arrived, but they'd help each other just like Rahne and Theresa helped her.

"Are we going to be flying long?" Madelyn asked Tabitha. "We get sick if we're away from the ground for too long….it's our powers."

"Just for an hour." Tabitha told her. _'That "earth power" of theirs must be pretty intense if they have to always be in contact with the ground.'_ she thought as she looked them over. They were pretty little blonde girls with blue eyes like hers, but like her, there was nothing out of the ordinary about their appearance. _'Kids this age shouldn't be developing powers….I hope there's nothing wrong with them…'_ she thought. She was a lot smarter than most people gave her credit for, but she knew nothing about genetics and she decided it wouldn't help to worry until Dr. McCoy checked them out.

"Can we live at the institute with you?" Haley asked.

"What about your parents?" Tabitha asked.

"They don't want us…" She said as she began to cry and Tabitha took her in her arms. She knew exactly how the poor little girl felt and she was grateful that they had a place to go so they wouldn't suffer the way she and Rahne had.

"Of course you can." She told her as she fought back her own tears. "Nobody's gonna hurt ya'll again…."

"Are you guys part of the X-Men?" Mark asked Theresa, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his leg. Wrath said they were "X-Force" but he didn't see an X on anyone's costume and he didn't recognize any of them from the news reports he'd seen.

"No, we're _X-Force_." Tabitha interrupted. "You'd still be in there if we were X-Men. _We_ go looking for trouble and then we blow it to hell when we find it." Mark didn't really know what to say, but it was clear he'd struck a nerve so he decided it was better to say nothing. Tabitha's sadness had quickly turned to anger as she held Haley in her arms. The X-Men seemed to have forgotten about Hodge, but he clearly hadn't forgotten about them and she didn't want to think what would have happened to these kids if _they_ hadn't been keeping track of RIGHT.

"We're on the same side, we just don't agree on how to achieve Professor Xavier's dream." Theresa explained. "We're taking ye back to the institute…ye'll be safe there." She told them. "Ye'll have lots of friends….we've taken in a lot of mutants yer age and the schools going public in the fall."

"Will we have to learn to fight?" Callie asked, drying her eyes.

"Ye'll have to learn to control your powers and how to protect yourself, but no one is going to ask you to fight if you don't want to." Theresa told her. "Ye deserve to be able to choose yer own path in life and the institute wasn't built train super hero's…..it was built so we could learn to help people." She said as she brushed the hair out of Callie's eyes. "Ye can grow food to feed people with yer powers….that's a gift worth learning to use properly." She added as Callie managed a weak smile and hugged her.

"I wanna learn to fight." Nicholas said darkly. "Next time those stinking humans come for me, I'll be ready."

"Mikes a human." Theresa said emphatically. "Me best friend was adopted by a human; they're not all like that Nick and if ye think that way then yer're not any better than RIGHT." She said as Nicholas looked at her in stunned disbelief.

"But…..how did he…."

"He's a super powered human, not a mutant." She interrupted. "Ye just remember wha' he did fer ye the next time ye start to feel that way….that goes fer all of ye." She said as Holmes and James dragged several large containers loaded with weapons and ammunition up the ramp and the PACRAT's engines roared to life.

* * *

><p><strong>Xavier Institute<strong>

**Medical Bay -Trauma Room One**

"Prep the healing pod and get Josh in here now!" Hank ordered as David began to prep the Shiar healing pods and Rahne laid Laura on the operating table. He'd never seen anyone so badly injured still clinging to life and he was determined to save her no matter how hopeless it seemed. There was a slim chance she would pull through if they could find some intact skin to regenerate and Josh could heal her lungs and airway. Dr. Nemesis and Rahne quickly cut away what little remained of her uniform as Dr. Reyes, Sharon and Annie worked to stabilize Xian.

"Thank ye God!" Rahne exclaimed as she removed Laura's scorched boots and found a small patch of unburned flesh on the bottom of her right foot. "Keep fightin' Laura!" she said as she and Dr. Nemesis worked to save her. Laura had a chance now, but only a very slim one; she'd lost a lot of fluids from having almost all her skin burned away and her vitals were crashing.

Across the room, Dr. Cecelia Reyes was prepping Xian for surgery; she'd taken one look at the scans and knew it was impossible to save her leg. Born to Cuban emigrants in one of New York's worst neighborhoods, she'd worked hard to overcome her humble beginnings and become one of the best trauma surgeons in the country. She'd come to respect both the X-Men and the X-Force during the war and she often volunteered her services to them when she wasn't busy at Our Mother of Mercy Hospital in the Bronx. Annie Ghazikhanian, the only human in the group, had only recently joined the institute staff after her son Carter's powers manifested. She was of Armenian descent and strikingly beautiful; she was also one of the best trauma nurses Dr. Reyes had ever seen. Sharon Friedlander had started life as a human, but an encounter with the Demon Bear, while trying to help a young Danielle Moonstar had changed her life forever. The demon's magic had transformed her from a white, human woman into a Native American mutant and she'd been with the X-Men ever sense.

Sharon was an exceptionally skilled E.R. nurse and she and Annie had Xian ready for surgery in no time. Rahne had done a good job, as always, but the injuries were just too severe and they all agreed that amputation was the only option. Xian took the news better than expected, but Annie could see the fear in her eyes and she and Sharon did their best to comfort her as they got ready to put her under. Xian couldn't ask for a better team, they were so focused on her that none of them even heard the door open and Hank yelling at Josh.

"What are you standing there for?!" Hank roared as he looked up and saw Josh. He was so shocked by the sight of Laura that for a moment he just froze. He wouldn't have known who it was if they hadn't told him she'd been hurt and he wondered if he was strong enough to heal her.

"Josh! Get hold o' yuirself!" Rahne yelled, even at that distance she could sense his anxiety. Josh took a breath and tried to calm down; he was Laura's only hope and he had to come through for her.

"Wh-Where do I start?" Josh stammered as he came to Laura's side.

"Heal her airway and be quick about it!" Hank ordered as he grabbed Josh's hands and forced them onto Laura's chest and abdomen. The sickening stench of burned flesh filled his lungs and he had to fight hard not to be sick as he began to heal her. He'd been horrified when he'd discovered he was a mutant; his parents had disowned him and his whole world seemed to come crashing down around him. He'd embraced his new identity as a "superhero" to escape the pain he felt from being abandoned and treated like an outcast. He wondered now if he'd made the right choice; seeing his classmate so horribly injured was sobering.

"Tha's it Josh! Yui're doin' it!" Rahne exclaimed as Laura began breathing normally and crying out in pain. She could see how hard this was for him and she did her best to comfort and encourage him as he healed Laura.

"The pod won't be able to stabilize her fast enough….it wasn't designed for the human anatomy." Nemesis said as he examined the scanner. "Josh! _**You're**_ going to have to regenerate her skin and nerves!" he ordered. Josh nodded and began regenerating her skin from the small patch left on her foot.

"Josh, be careful!" Hank said emphatically. He was monitoring his vitals and his body was under an incredible amount of stress. Regenerating a multiple major organs took a huge amount of energy and Josh had only recently begun his medical training. He was still unskilled and relying on the incredible amount of power he possessed.

"I'm an omega, I can handle it." He said smugly. He was beginning to feel drained, but Rahne's kind words and attention had given him back his confidence and his courage. He wanted to be a hero and save Laura; he wanted Rahne to see how wrong she'd been to choose Mike over him and he wanted to prove to David that he wasn't an immature kid who needed him to watch out for him.

"Don't get cocky you simpleton!" Dr. Nemesis exclaimed. "You have no clue how to use your powers properly!" he chided.

"I can do this!" Josh yelled. Within moments he'd regenerated Laura's skin and nerves, healed her eyes, throat and lungs and even re-grown her hair, but it had cost him dearly. He was so weak he could barely stand up, but he didn't want to show any weakness in his moment of glory.

"She's stable." Hank said checking the scanner for her vital signs. "David! Help Ms. Sinclair take Laura to the pod, I'll be in to check on her shortly." He ordered as he tried to comfort her. She was disoriented and still in pain, though nothing like she had been. The Shiar medical equipment would heal her while she slept and give her healing factor a chance to recover.

"Not bad for a snot-nosed kid huh?" Josh asked derisively, trying his best to rub it in. Rahne was not impressed by his cocky attitude and gave him a cold look as she quickly covered Laura with a sheet. The poor girl was completely naked and she'd suffered enough indignity in her life already without her classmate staring at her like that.

"Nemesis, will you see if Cecelia needs any assistance….it appears Mr. Foley has overexerted himself." Hank said as he noticed how pale Josh had become.

"I am no one's assistant….I'll send her out to play "house" with you and that egotistical nuisance now that the easy part is over." Dr. Nemesis hissed as he opened the airlock to the operating room.

* * *

><p><strong>Medical Bay – Intensive Care Unit<strong>

"Why did they do that to save me?" Laura asked weakly as David hooked her up to the alien machine. "They compromised the team….that witch might kill him…."she said. She couldn't understand why Sam and Holmes would put themselves in such a position for her. She hardly had any friends, most of the students made it clear they thought she was a monster and wasn't welcome. Emma Frost thought she was dangerous and tortured her with visions of her dead mother trying to drive her away. She would have run away weeks ago if it weren't for Cessily; she'd told Ororo what was happening to Laura and she'd been protecting her ever since. Ororo was furious; if anyone belonged at the institute it was Laura and she'd made it clear she wouldn't tolerate _anyone_ treating her badly. Laura had no control over how she was brought into the world or what had happened to her at the Facility and she deserved a chance to build a real life for herself. Rahne had also become aware of what was going on and like Ororo, she'd admonished the students several times when she'd caught them gossiping about Laura or about Cessily for being her friend.

"We're X-Force…..we're nae jus' a team, we're a family, we love each other and we dinnae leave anyone behind." Rahne told her.

"You act like you think I am a real person..." Laura said as tears began to well up in her eyes. She was grateful for Rahne's kind words and for Sam and Holmes' selfless actions. They had treated her like a real person, like her life had value and she was overwhelmed with emotion that they accepted her when so many of the others refused too. X-Force knew what Laura had done, but they also knew she'd been forced to do it. They'd discovered the top secret Weapon PLUS program during the war and they'd put an end to the Weapon X program in the months after the war ended. They had witnessed the horror of what Laura had endured first hand and they were all deeply affected by the experience.

"Ye _**are**_ a real person." Rahne said emphatically. "Ye gave yuir life fer children ye've ne'er even met…..Mike was right, yuir're nae a monster, yuir're a hero and yuir mum would be so proud of ye if she could see who ye've become." Rahne said as she brushed a tear from her cheek. There was no doubt in her mind now that Laura really did have a soul and it actually made her sick to think about what those horrible people had done to her. Rahne felt God was calling her to help Laura overcome the trauma they'd inflicted on her, just as her friends and family had helped her.

"You're going to be fine Laura." David said reassuringly as he ran a full scan on her. He didn't know if Rahne was right, but he could see the other students were dead wrong about Laura and he was ashamed he hadn't done more to stop them from being cruel to her. She might not be very good at expressing or understanding her emotions, but she still had them and he couldn't imagine how horrible she must feel. He made up his mind he was going to stand up to the others along with Megan and Cessily and follow Ms. Munro and Ms. Sinclair's example.

"Yui're nae alone anymore." Rahne said as David made the final adjustments to the pod. "Things will be better Laura, I promise." She told her as she drifted off to sleep. The machine looked a little like a hospital bed from the Star Trek TV shows, when it was open, but now that it had closed, it resembled a sarcophagus with a class panel to view the patient. There was a soft hiss as it formed an airlock and a gentle hum as it stabilized the internal environment and began to heal her.

"Are you alright Ms. Sinclair?" David asked as they walked to the door. He knew she was concerned for Laura and Xian, but she was strong and brave and he was surprised that she seemed so shaken and vulnerable now.

"No." Rahne said quietly. She'd managed to hold herself together this long because she had to, but she was seriously disturbed and frightened by her ultimate transformation. She'd defeated Hodge, but she nearly lost control of herself and she'd endangered the others in her rage. She hated herself for giving in to her anger and the savage impulses of the wolf; she'd wanted to kill Hodge, but it wasn't for her to pass judgment.

* * *

><p><strong>Aboard the PACRAT En-Route to the Xavier Institute<strong>

"What happened to Mike?" Tabitha asked as she, Sam and Theresa tried to care for the RIGHT's victims as best they could. The MRE's they kept onboard weren't very good, but the kids were so hungry they didn't care. _'Ugh….these things are so nasty…'_ Tabitha thought as she tore open the packages and poured in the water to activate the chemical heat. She'd eaten plenty of them during the war and they brought back a lot of bad memories of being cold, hungry and scared.

"He lost his best friend on a mission…." Sam said, remembering the first time he'd met Holmes and Jesse Aaronson during the war. Holmes wasn't nearly as grim and brooding as he was now and Jesse always seemed to be able to make him laugh and keep him from taking things too seriously. "Hawkeye and Black Widow's team got shot down behind th' line and nearly overrun….Jesse and Holmes jumped in and held th' Infinites off long enough t' evacuate 'em, but they got captured and taken t' Mikhail." He told her. "That sick bastard tortured th' hell out of Mike…" Sam said. "He plugged Jesse into some kind of machine to amp up his powers and used him to break through th' defense net on Staten Island." He said. Jesse's powers wreaked havoc on the base, disrupting electronic systems and triggering neural spasms, debilitating everyone. The base had been heavily damaged, a lot of soldiers and civilians died and Captain America and Wasp were seriously wounded.

"But Mikhail died in that battle….how could he lose with a weapon like that?" Tabitha asked.

"Mike broke 'em out during th' battle and Jesse used his powers to destroy Mikhail's techno-mesh armor and crash the ship….Mike killed Mikhail, but Jesse died from overusing his powers." Sam told her as he finished preparing the MRE's for Madelyn and Haley.

"And SHIELD just patched him up and sent him right back out didn't they?" She asked as Sam nodded. Tabitha shook her head in disgust; she had a pretty good idea what was going on in Holmes' head now and she was really worried about him. Holmes was strong, but everyone had their limit; he'd reached his and he needed help dealing with everything he'd been through. He was really stubborn and she didn't know how easy it would be to convince him to go to counseling, but hopefully his relationship with Rahne would be enough motivation. She and Sam had gotten help together; Rahne was still seeing a specialist once a month and Theresa had finally gotten help with her alcoholism. James was still too proud and angry to admit he needed anyone's help, but something told her Holmes would be more reasonable. Holmes was far from perfect, but at his core he was still a good man who hadn't given in to the hate and anger yet. He'd only resorted to lethal force to protect the children and his compassion for them and for Laura told Tabitha everything she needed to know about him.

* * *

><p>"This is pretty ugly Mike….you gonna be alright?" James asked as he helped Holmes out of his armor vest and mask so he could treat his wound. It was more serious than he thought and he was impressed Holmes could move his arm at all. He was extremely tough and resistant to blunt force trauma, but penetrating force was another matter entirely and Hodge had made a real mess of him.<p>

"I've had a lot worse….I'll be fine in a couple of days." He answered, gritting his teeth as James began to disinfect the wound. He'd absorbed a lot of Laura's memories while he was trying to ease her suffering and the physical pain he felt was nothing compared to the mental anguish he was experiencing. He knew what had happened to her, he'd read the files, but being in her mind and feeling what she felt; it was worse than being tortured by Mikhail. He felt like crying, but he reminded himself that Laura was strong and he had to be too; he had to stop this madness.

"Ye two go somewhere else to do that." Theresa said as she continued to comfort Callie. The children had already been exposed to too much horror and violence and the sight of Holmes wound was disgusting. The youngest would probably all be scarred for life and need years of therapy to overcome the trauma they'd just been put through.

"It's ok." Callie said quietly.

"Yeah, he saved us…" Mark said as he rolled over on the stretcher and looked up at Holmes appreciatively.

"_**We**_ saved y'all." Holmes corrected him.

"How did ye get caught?" Theresa asked.

"It was Senator Kelly's fault!" Callie said angrily. "Him and that awful newspaper!"

"That damn hypocrite! I knew this was gonna happen! " Sam fumed. Senator Kelly had been pushing his Mutant Registration Act in the aftermath of the war and unfortunately, he was making progress. Several papers around the country had taken it upon themselves to publish the names and addresses of mutants in their area even though they hadn't done anything wrong. Sam had said that it would open them up to persecution and while many people condemned it, the papers went right ahead with their plans, some even publishing maps online. The unrest brought on by the war was a breeding ground for extreme viewpoints and agendas from both sides, but it was hard to get more extreme than Senator Kelly. The man stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and called for mutants to be removed from society.

"What did I fight for?" Holmes asked in a disgusted tone. "What did Jesse die for?!" he yelled as he slammed his fist against the wall, denting it. "Th' damn government's out of control! Building killer robots, spyin' on everybody, treatin' law abidin' citizens like criminals, pissin' on free speech and religious liberties…..this is bull…"

"Mike, not in front of the kids…." Tabitha interrupted. Holmes nodded and looked a little embarrassed, he wasn't above using profanity now and then, but he'd never do it in front of kids. Tabitha agreed with most of what he'd said; she was more of a libertarian in her views and she wasn't happy with the way things were going in Washington either. Holmes was definitely conservative, but he was as fed up with republicans as he was democrats and he was disgusted with politics in general. Mutants and super humans in general were going to lose no matter what and he was seriously worried for these kid's future.

"I just hope that not _everyone_ in th' media has bought into that crap that we're terrorists." Theresa said grimly. "He has to be held accountable fer this." She added. She'd already ordered Cypher to alert that media, but that might not be enough and Senator Kelly and those newspapers had to pay for what they'd done. She hoped that the professor would be willing to help, especially now that they'd proved Trask was still working on the Nimrod Sentinels.

"Callie…..what happened to Laura?" Sam asked as Theresa continued to comfort her. He hated to even ask her, but he was responsible for bringing Laura on the mission and he had to know what happened.

"Wrath said you guys were in trouble so he and Boomer went to help…their sister went too, even though he told her not to." She said, nodding toward Nga and Leong. "Laura hid us in the bunker so we'd be safe, just like Wrath said, but then those two robots started trying to break in and set the place on fire so she had to go fight them." Callie told them. "She stopped the first one, but the other one burned her…she was still fighting it even though she was on fire….." Callie said as she broke down crying again. She'd never seen anything so awful and she didn't think she'd ever be able to forget it. Nicholas whimpered and began to cry as Theresa tried to comfort both of them.

"It's ok Nick…." Mark said as he put his hand on the younger boys shoulder. He knew Nicholas was embarrassed to break like that in front of Mike and James, but he didn't have anything to be ashamed of.

* * *

><p>Sam felt sick to his stomach as he made his way up to the comm. station near the front of the PACRAT. Nobody should have to see the things he had today, especially not those children. He'd seen it all before during the war, kids broken and robbed of their innocence like Nicholas was; they'd never be the same again and there was nothing he could do.<p>

He knew exactly what was wrong with Holmes, there was only so much of this anyone could take before they broke and he'd been drowning in the madness longer than any of them. He knew why Laura was so adamant that he allow her to help, but he still felt terrible about his decision. He prayed she'd survive and he prayed he hadn't damaged her even more; he'd made hard choices before, but this might be the hardest to live with.

_"Med Bay, this is PACRAT, do ya read?"_ He asked as he picked up the microphone. The communication system was encrypted, so he didn't have to worry about SHIELD listening in on them. _ "Beast, are ya there?" _he asked after a moment of silence. _'I swear if that witch double crossed us, I'll hunt her down and kill with my bare hands if I have too.' _He thought as an awful thought crept into his mind.

_"Go ahead PACRAT."_ Sharon said as she came on the communication system. _"Make it quick, I'm needed in surgery." _She added.

_"We've got seven hostages, all juveniles…oldest is a white male, sixteen, gunshot wound to the right calf…he's stable."_ Sam told her as Sharon logged the information for Dr. McCoy, Dr. Nemesis and Dr. Reyes. _"Mikes hurt too, massive trauma to the upper left arm, his healing factors takin' care of it, but he needs to be examined."_ He said.

_"Understood Sam."_ Sharon said. _"Hurry home."_

_"Sharon….did Laura make it?"_ He asked.

_"Laura's fine Sam, she's in the pod recovering."_ She answered. _"Josh saved her, but he passed out, he's in some kind of coma….Beast is with him now."_ She explained_. "We can't save Xian's leg but she'll pull through….I've got to get back to her….Med Bay out."_ She said as she cut the transmission.

Sam was relieved by the good news for Xian and Laura, but he felt terrible about Josh and he knew Danielle must be worried sick. Despite the fact that Danielle had insulted Tabitha, he still cared for her and he knew she was struggling emotionally already. Even though his team had saved all the hostages, the institute and exposed Trask Industries, this mission felt like a failure. Josh was in a coma, Xian was crippled, Rahne, Holmes and Danielle were emotionally destroyed and Logan would go berserk when he found out about Laura. He was certain Emma Frost was _already_ trying to convince Scott and Ororo to throw them out and he didn't know if the fact they'd just saved the school was going to make any difference.

_'We did the right thing and I'm not backing down from them.'_ He thought as he went to break the news to the others.

* * *

><p>"I know I shouldn't have let Shan fight…." Holmes muttered as Sam sat down beside him. "There's nothin' you can say that'll make me feel worse than I already do." He said.<p>

"Ah'm not blamin' you...Callie said ya told her no, but she went anyway." Sam said.

"She just wanted to protect 'em…..she's all they've got…" Holmes said, looking at the twins.

"Ah just got word from th' institute…..Laura and Xian are gonna make it." Sam told him. "Xian's in surgery right now….she's gonna lose her leg, but Forge can give her a new one." He told him. "Josh saved Laura and she's recoverin'…..but he passed out after using all that energy…Beast is tryin' t' figure out what to do fer him." He said.

"Thanks…." Holmes sighed.

"Beatin' yerself up ain't gonna help any of 'em." Sam told him as he got up to tell the others.

"What are you going to do about Spiral?" James asked.

"I'm a _genius_" Holmes said, making more of his sarcastic finger quotes in the air. "I'll think of some way to screw her over."

"You're the dumbest smart guy I know Mike." James said.

"Tell me about it." Holmes muttered.

* * *

><p><strong>Xavier Institute<strong>

**Main Medical Bay**

"What the hell is wrong with you people?!" Danielle yelled as she confronted Rahne in the medical bay. Josh had been called out of class to save Laura, but now he was the one in peril and she'd rushed to his side the moment she'd heard what happened. Rahne already felt bad enough about Xian's leg and about nearly losing control of herself, but the situation with Josh had her at her breaking point.

"You take a student…..**A** **STUDENT** on a mission with you, get her burned up and then sacrifice Josh to bring her back?!" She yelled as she shoved Rahne against the wall. Danielle had saved Josh from a gang of Reavers after his parents had disowned him and he'd inadvertently restored her powers as he healed the injuries she'd received defending him. She was grateful to have her powers and a purpose again and she'd signed the guardianship papers on behalf of the institute. Josh was often resentful of Danielle since she wasn't much older than he was, but she'd grown very protective of him in the short time they'd been together.

"Dani….I'm sorry…." Rahne choked out as the tears started to roll down her cheeks.

"How could you Rahne?!" Danielle screamed at her sobbing friend. "You know how immature he is! You know he's always trying to be a hero! How could you ask him to throw his life away like that?! She's not worth it! She's not even real!" she yelled. David was shocked by her cruel words and he quickly closed the door to the ICU, thankful that Laura was sound asleep and hadn't heard any of that. Danielle was his mentor; he knew about her past trauma and why she cared for Josh, but he was appalled by her now.

"Shut up Dani!" Rahne snarled as she involuntarily changed forms. "She cannae help th' way she was born! It's nae her fault! None of it was her fault! She ne'er had a chance!" she yelled. David was shocked, he'd never seen Rahne like this before; she was so upset she was shaking and her tears were soaking the fur on her cheeks. He began to understand just how deeply personal Laura's suffering was to Rahne and he was moved by her compassion.

"Ms. Moonstar…..you're wrong about Laura." David said emphatically. "I know you're worried about Josh….we _**all**_ are, but it's not right to take your pain out on her….or Ms. Sinclair. They were trying to do the right thing, just like Josh." He said, trying to calm her down.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions David." Emma said as she and Ororo made their presence known. She'd come for proof that Laura had accompanied X-Force to sate her bloodlust, but with Ororo present, she couldn't interrogate her. Laura was under Ororo's protection and not even Scott could overrule her on matters concerning the students or the school. Xavier had been forced to step down from many of his duties at the institute, leaving Scott in charge of the X-Men and Ororo in charge of the institute and the students. His heart was failing and even with the aid of the Shiar medical equipment, he didn't know how long he had left. He'd wanted Moira to take over now that Jean was dead, but her duties as head of the Kinross Clan and recent revelations about his past had destroyed those plans. The current situation wasn't ideal and he hadn't given up full control yet, but he had no other choice at this point.

"Your sarcasm is unbecoming Ms. Frost." Ororo said emphatically. "Danielle, don't let your pain blind you to the suffering of others." She said as she put her arm around her. "Laura **is** real and Rahne has always put the students before herself; she loves these children and you of all people should understand how much pain she's in right now." Ororo told her as Danielle began to cry. The psychic bond she shared with Rahne wasn't nearly as strong as it had been, but felt the depth of her suffering and sadness overwhelmed her.

"I'm sorry…." Danielle choked out as Ororo held her close and gathered Rahne in her arms as well. Ororo had come to talk to Rahne; she was angry that X-Force had chosen to involve Laura in their plan, but she was going to withhold judgment until she had the facts. David had sent Sharon's report to her and from what she understood so far, X-Force was lucky to be alive. One look at Rahne was proof enough for anyone that they'd been put through the wringer. She looked utterly exhausted and her healing factor hadn't completely healed all the cuts and bruises she'd received yet. Her uniform was covered in dirt and blood and it still had pieces of Laura's burned skin stuck to it. Rahne was already an emotional wreck after the stress of her transformation and nearly losing Xian and Laura; but the situation with Josh and Danielle was too much and she just couldn't stop crying.

"Let it out Rahne." Ororo told her as she held her close and Rahne started to cry even harder. She and Jean had taken a special interest in Rahne when she'd arrived because of her tragic past and she'd often found herself comforting her when she was sad or needed advice. She hadn't wanted this kind of life for her, for any of them, but she understood Rahne's need to help others and why she continued to put herself in harms way. "You'll feel better after a bath." Ororo said as she brushed the hair out of Rahne's face. "We can talk about what happened when Sam and the others get back."

"_**I**_ would rather not wait, in case Alex comes asking questions again….like the last time they went off unprepared." Emma said in an icy tone. Their last raid on Trask Industries, several months earlier, had resulted in millions of dollars in damages and no proof that Project Nimrod was still active. X-Force hadn't left any traces, but Scott's brother, Alex, was certain they were behind it and he'd come to the institute with a warning. Alex had tired of living in his brother's shadow and he'd joined the Avengers along with Lorna after the war. He was convinced he and Lorna were only a token effort to appease the mutant community, but he wanted to change that. He certainly didn't approve of the sentinel program, but he felt that X-Force was only making people like Senator Kelly right and he didn't want to have to fight his former teammates or close the school.

"Th' sentinels happened." Rahne said tersely as she regained some composure. "Th' RIGHT had **Nimrod Sentinels**, guarding their lab." She said, letting it sink in. Emma and Ororo were both as stunned as Rahne had been when she'd seen them. It made no sense to sell or give sentinels to RIGHT and from what she'd sensed from Larry Trask during their last meeting, he was as frightened of Nimrod as they were. He had examined Nimrod's heavily damaged memory core after he was destroyed by the Avengers and he knew what awaited humanity if the project went any further.

Nimrod had come from the future, a timeline that existed before he destroyed Genosha and altered the past, sending the timeline into a tangent. Designed to be the ultimate hunter and killer of mutants, the machine had become self-aware and rejected its programming to protect human life in favor of artificial life. Nimrod and the sentinels had unleashed a holocaust on the earth, killing billions before the mutants of Genosha found a way to defeat them. With annihilation inevitable, Nimrod fled back through time with the remaining sentinels to destroy Genosha and prevent their defeat. However, the plan radically altered the timeline far beyond Nimrod's calculations and the irreconcilable changes he detected in the new timeline caused him to shut down and reboot, allowing SHIELD and the Avengers time to attack. Nimrod had never faced the Avengers, most of them were dead by the time he was created and Hulk and Thor were both off world. Nimrod was unable to adapt to the mystical properties of uru and his time drive was damaged by the first blow from Mjolnir. Nimrod managed to overcome Thor, but the machine had its limits while the Hulk had none and he destroyed Nimrod after an apocalyptic battle in the burning ruins of Hammer Bay.

Nimrod's memory core was heavily damaged by the battle and very little information about future survived, but it seemed to confirm Professor Xavier's worst fears. The professor had been overly cautious after the X-Men had toppled the Genoshan government and Magneto had deserted them to rule the country. A mutant nation had put the world on edge and spurred Bolivar Trask to create the first sentinels. It was never Xavier's intention to create a mutant state; he didn't think mutants and normal humans should segregate themselves and Magneto's leadership exacerbated the fears of the humans. Xavier was trying to bring humanity together, but his actions, while noble, had only helped to drive them further apart.

The mere existence of Nimrod and his army was proof that the X-Men had failed to avert a war with the humans and Xavier was genuinely frightened for the future of the mutant race. The Purge wiped out over three quarters of the earth's mutants in under eight hours and split the X-Men, with Professor Xavier urging caution and Cable urging action before someone else finished what Nimrod started. The New Mutants, devastated by the loss of Illyana and Danielle, had taken up Cable's cause and Sam continued to lead them against the enemies of the mutant race.

"Sam was right….." Ororo said after a moments silence.

"You have news Dr. McCoy?" Emma asked as he joined them. She was eager to change the subject; after losing the Hellions, she'd seen the error of her ways and she'd taken up Xavier's cause. She'd urged caution as well in the hope of protecting the school and the students, but it seemed she'd been wrong about Larry Trask. Knowing she was wrong was bad enough, but having it thrown in her face by Rahne was too much. She didn't approve of her teaching the students; she felt she was too young and her continued involvement with the outlaw X-Force set a bad example for the kids.

"Yes." He said as he knelt down beside Danielle, who was still crying. "Josh's condition is serious, but it's treatable." He told her as she dried her eyes. "We have several ideas for how to bring him out of his coma, but we'll know more in the morning, once we've had time to observe him and get the test results." He said, trying to console her. Danielle was relieved by the news, but Josh was still in danger and she was afraid their plans might not work. Healers were rare and omega level mutants even more rare, they'd never encountered anyone like Josh before, so naturally she was nervous.

"Wha' about Shan?" Rahne asked despondently.

"Nemesis is fitting her with a cybernetic nerve interface now." He told her. "There was nothing else you could have done Rahne." He said emphatically. "She's alive because of what you did for her and she **will** walk again." He added, trying to make Rahne feel better. She'd done everything she could to save her leg and he was impressed by her skill, but there was just too much damage. Rahne had saved Xian's life, but in doing so she'd had to almost completely cut off circulation to her leg and it was dying. There was nothing else she could have done under the circumstances or Xian would have bled to death and he hoped Rahne wouldn't continue to blame herself.

"The Shiar equipment can't regenerate her leg?" Emma asked.

"While human and Shiar physiologies are similar on a very basic level, we're having a hard time adapting the machines to our bodies." Hank explained. "Right now, we're simply not able to regenerate a limb….we wouldn't have been able to save Laura if not for Josh." He said. "Nemesis and I should be able to adapt the technology to better suit our needs in the future…hopefully we can do more for her then." He said. They hadn't had the pods long and while they were a priority, it was an exceedingly complex task, working with alien technology.

"What of the little monster?" Emma asked.

"Monster?!" Rahne growled. "_**Ye**_ ha' th' gall tae call _her_ a monster after she saved those kids?!" she asked incredulously.

"Remember who you're speaking too Ms. Sinclair." Emma said sternly.

"I've nae forgotten who and wha' ye are _Ms. Frost._" Rahne said defiantly. "Ye think I dinnae know how ye've tormented tha' poor girl with visions of her dead mum?! If there's a monster here it's **ye**!" she snapped.

"You vile little mongrel!" Emma yelled. "I will not be lectured by an impertinent child who was raised in the gutter! You're a terrible role model for these children and I won't tolerate any more of your defiance!" she threatened, but Ororo stepped in and ended the confrontation. Emma _had_ changed, but she still had a lot of rough edges and she often behaved like a bully, especially to those she felt were beneath her. Rahne was embarrassed that her birth mother had been a stripper, but she wouldn't tolerate anyone mocking her as Emma had just done. Ororo was proud of Rahne for defending Laura and she wasn't going to let Emma provoke her into a confrontation.

"Rahne, remember who **you** are." Ororo said calmly as Rahne regained her composure and her natural form. "You've done all you can for the others….you need to take some time for yourself." She said as Rahne gave Emma a cold look and headed for the locker room to change and bathe. Rahne had really looked up to Jean and Ororo when she was younger, because they were beautiful, strong and confident; everything she'd been told by Reverend Craig she could never be. They'd always believed in her and Ororo wished Jean was here to see what a fine young woman she'd become.

"Insolent little…."Emma fumed.

"Emma, a word with you…..**in private**." Ororo said as she motioned for Emma to follow her. "I thought I made myself clear when I said that Laura is to be treated with dignity and kindness." She said as they stepped out into the hallway. "She's no more a monster than _your girls_ and as long as I'm headmistress, this is her home." She said firmly, meeting Emma's icy glare with her own.

"She's dangerous, but you're too blinded by emotion to see it." Emma said. "I've seen inside her mind, death and murder are all she knows, look how eager she was to join X-Force."

"You're the one who's blind. You violated her mind, but saw only what you _wanted_ to see." Ororo said in a disgusted tone. "She joined X-Force to save those children from being used as weapons like she was." She told her.

"You're jeopardizing everyone trying to save her." Emma said.

"_Your_ girls are infinitely more dangerous than she is, but I'm trying to save them too." Ororo told her. "They were created to be weapons, just like Laura…..and just like Laura, they deserve our compassion, not our judgment." She said. "I won't give up on Laura, I won't give up on them…..and I won't give up on you Emma." She said as she left to comfort Danielle, leaving Emma to consider what she'd said.

* * *

><p><strong>The Lab<strong>

"What's wrong with me Beast?" Danielle asked as she sat down beside Josh and wiped her eyes. Dr. McCoy was busy running every type of test imaginable on him and it broke her heart to see him lying there, half naked, hooked up to all those different machines. She had every right to be angry, but Rahne's words had struck a nerve and she was disgusted with herself for judging Laura so harshly. She was still angry with Rahne, but she regretted what she'd said to her and how she'd treated her. She thought she'd put her past behind her and moved on, but she'd hurt her best friend's feelings twice already and alienated most of her friends and teammates.

"You have post traumatic stress disorder." Hank said as he stopped and came to her side. He'd diagnosed all her teammates after the war and he was prepared for an argument. There was such a stigma associated with mental health and behavioral health issues, especially in the superhero community, that they all thought people would think they were weak or crazy or both. Rahne was the only one who'd accepted his diagnosis since she'd dealt with emotional problems most of her life and she'd helped convince the others to seek help.

"I'm not crazy…" She said quietly as she became emotional again. "I got over what happened…"

"You're _**not**_ crazy Danielle, you're normal." Hank said emphatically. "You can't just "get over" being tortured and having your identity ripped away from you…not without help." He told her. "Your friends all went through this in one form or another after the war….most of them didn't want to accept it either, but they're better now that they've gotten help."

"But why is it happening like this now?" she asked.

"We all react to trauma differently…with Tabitha, it was immediate and obvious, Sam and Rahne took longer to manifest obvious symptoms and it was quite ugly when they did." He told her. "Theresa tried to self-medicate and James has been in denial….much like Michael." He said. He'd examined Dr. Nemesis notes after his confrontation with Holmes that morning and it was obvious from his neurological scans that he was suffering severe PTSD. He was provoked with Dr. Nemesis; he'd been so interested in finding out what Holmes was that he hadn't discussed his health concerns with him.

"So what do I do? Go lie on a couch and talk about my feelings?" She asked.

"I can recommend several excellent therapists." Hank said, trying to ignore Danielle's sarcasm.

"What do they know about being de-powered?" She asked bitterly as she got up to leave. She didn't want to admit she needed help to deal with this; she didn't want anyone to see how scared and broken she _really_ was. She needed get out and collect herself, but she ran right into Ororo, who was deeply concerned for her. She'd lost her powers to the Gengineer years earlier and eventually re-powered by Dr. McCoy, so she knew how lost and angry Danielle felt. It was obvious from the callous way she'd just treated Rahne and Laura that she was still suffering and Ororo would help if she'd let her.

"We need to talk." She said as Danielle reluctantly followed her. Ororo had been a role model for her as well and she felt like a disappointment to her after what she'd done. Danielle had thought getting her powers back would make everything better, but it hadn't; she still felt lost and completely out of place, even here at the institute. Rahne wasn't the needy little sister she had once been and despite Danielle's psychic bond to her, Tabitha seemed to understand her better than she ever had. Any hope she ever had of leading the team again was gone now that Theresa had overcome her alcoholism and _everyone_ respected Sam's leadership. She wondered why they'd even asked her to come back at all; she didn't agree with some of their methods and they already had a telepath. Unlike her, Mike was a _true_ telepath, he could rip thoughts out of their enemies' minds if he had too and he was immune to psychic attacks.

* * *

><p><strong>The Grindstone<strong>

**Several Hours Later**

"They tore those guys apart….." Victor said as he sat in the coffee shop and watched the news coverage of X-Force's battle with RIGHT and the sentinels. SHIELD had sealed off the area and had already sent a team to Trask Industries, but their involvement with RIGHT was being reported by the media thanks to Cypher. Wrath had a nano-camera mounted in his helmet that uploaded to one of Cypher's servers and he'd already put together a damning video of sentinels aiding the RIGHT agents. He wished he could have shown the world the whole thing, but he couldn't risk showing any more for fear someone at SHIELD or in the superhero community would recognize his teammate's powers and they'd all be arrested as terrorists. Still, the short video and the plans for the Gengineering lab had everyone talking about the "terrorists" and the children they'd rescued.

The victims had all been thoroughly examined by Dr. McCoy and Dr. Nemesis; Mark had been healed by the Shiar medical equipment and Forge was hard at work on a prosthetic leg for Xian. Dr. Nemesis had successfully attached the cybernetic interface to her nervous system and she was recovering in one of the healing pods. Kitty, Jubilee and Sam's younger sister Paige had volunteered to look after the victims, especially the younger children, giving Tabitha a chance to recover. Kitty didn't really like Tabitha, but she was impressed by how good she was with the children.

The students had mixed emotions, they were happy that the victims had been rescued and they were grateful that X-Force had saved their lives. Hodge was planning to turn his captives into mind-controlled, living weapons using the twisted science of Dr. Moreau, the Gengineer. Then he'd _"allow"_ them to be _"rescued"_ so he could activate them and destroy the institute from within. Unfortunately, two of their classmates had been seriously injured and many were appalled at the savagery of the assault. Rahne was seen as one of the "cool teachers" at the institute, but once Cypher's video hit, _some_ students began to question her.

"I can't believe Ms. Sinclair did all that…." Megan said as she looked across the table at her lizard like classmate. She loved Rahne and she was proud that her mentor had saved those other kids, but she was still having a hard time accepting that she'd allowed Laura to accompany them; especially now that she'd **seen** what X-Force was capable of. She and Cessily were Laura's only friends and they'd been so upset that David, Victor, Noriko and Alani had taken them to town to try to get their minds off everything that had happened.

"Don't be too hard on her Meg….they did what they had to do….they were a mess when they came in." David said. "They were all beaten up, Warpath was shot…so was Wrath and he nearly had his arm ripped off." He told them.

"Is he alright?" Noriko asked. She knew he had a healing factor, but his injuries sounded really serious to her and she couldn't help but worry. She liked Mike, he had helped her when no one else cared and while he didn't share some of her more liberal views; she knew he respected her.

"They're all fine….the Shiar pods are great for healing those type of injuries." He told them. Noriko could tell David was holding something back from her, but she decided to ask him later. They'd just met, but she was already impressed by him, he was a genius and well-built for a bookworm. He was also more mature than most of the other students and he seemed genuinely concerned for his roommate Josh, even though they didn't get along at all.

"Why couldn't it save Laura?" Cessily asked.

"They weren't made for humans and there wasn't enough time….Wrath was in that thing for an hour and he's got a healing factor." He said. "Josh really has an incredible gift….its a shame he let his ego get in the way…again." he sighed.

"Can you fix him?" Megan asked.

"Trust me, he's going to be ok….we're going to have the Stepfords transfer all Dr. McCoy's medical knowledge to him so he can heal himself….may take a little psychic prompting, but that shouldn't be a problem either." He said confidently.

"Everybody's gonna blame Laura for Josh." Cessily said despondently.

"No they won't." Alani said. "Laura saved those kids….Mark and Callie told us all about it when Ms. Pryde introduced them." She said, remembering how guilty she felt that she hadn't been more understanding of Laura. Almost everyone viewed Laura differently now and she'd even seen Sooraya praying for her before they'd left. Julian and Santo might not change their minds about her, but they wouldn't be so cruel to her if the others stood up to them.

"Why does everybody hate Laura?" Noriko asked.

"She's a clone….they say she's not real, that she's doesn't have a soul. Some evil scientists created her to be a weapon…they made her kill people and the others think she's some kind of monster." Cessily said. "It's not true…she's real, I know she is and she feels guilty about what she did….she has nightmares and I've heard her crying at night, but I don't know how to help her…." She said as she became emotional and Megan put her arm around her.

"It's not her fault….she can't help how she was born." Noriko said indignantly. "What the hell?! That's like hating David for being black or Victor for being gay or any of us for being mutants." She said angrily. She'd never been more disgusted and ashamed than she was right then. That they would treat one of their own so badly because of what other people had done to her was utterly inexcusable. Mutants weren't any better than other people even though they claimed to be the most mistreated and Noriko was seriously offended.

"That's what Ms. Sinclair said." David told them. "She stood up to Ms. Moonstar and Ms. Frost for Laura….she told her she was real." He said. Cessily began to feel a little better; she knew Mike cared for Laura, but it was clear that Rahne cared for her as well and she was sure now that X-Force hadn't used her as a weapon. She was proud of Laura's selfless sacrifice to protect the innocent and she hoped Alani was right and the others would finally start to see her for who she really was.

* * *

><p><strong>Xavier Institute<strong>

**The Briefing Room**

"That doesn't excuse them for taking Laura." Scott said as he and Ororo sat watching the news reports on the battle and Trask Industries involvement with RIGHT. He didn't trust Larry Trask either, but he'd never dreamed he'd go so far as to aid terrorists like Hodge and now he felt like a fool.

"Laura and the Institute are my responsibility and I'll deal with the situation as I see fit." Ororo answered. "We should be more concerned with the fact that RIGHT was able to rebuild the Gengineer's lab without our knowledge and hide those children from Cerebro…..and we should be most concerned about Trask's continued involvement with Nimrod." She said.

"There's worse out there than Nimrod…." Sam said ominously as he and Theresa walked in and sat down. They both looked shaken and the others began to wonder what new threat they'd uncovered.

"What have you discovered?" Ororo asked.

"Bolivar Trask has got RIGHT kidnapping kids fer him." Theresa said. "Some type of human experimentation and a new type of sentinel…..this stuff makes Dr. Moreau look like Dr. Phil." She told them.

"That's not in the files you stole from RIGHT…." Scott said as he scrolled through the data Cypher and Boomer had stolen and uploaded to the institute's database. Cypher may have reformed, but he was still a wanted, international criminal and his involvement with X-Force put the team in an even more precarious position in Scott's mind.

"Ah got that from Hodge himself." Sam said. Dr. Nemesis had connected Hodge's severed neural connections to his scanner and pulled the information from his twisted, evil mind. Sam was grateful that Nemesis was always willing to help X-Force; he didn't have time to get bogged down in an ethical debate with Dr. McCoy or the professor when children were being used as human guinea pigs.

"How?" Scott asked suspiciously.

"Don't worry about it." Sam said bluntly. "We'll take care of 'em just as soon as SHIELD clears out and we can get t' Larry." He told them. "If ya'll wanna throw us out fer what happened t' Laura….Ah don't blame ya, but stay out of our way till this is over."

"Look Sam, I've had it with all this cloak and dagger, black-ops bullshit!" Scott yelled. "We were looking for those kids too! You should have asked for our help and then you wouldn't have needed Laura!"

"We can't even eat breakfast together! How do ye expect yer people to work with us on a mission?!" Theresa exclaimed.

"Don't play Monday mornin' quarterback with me!" Sam snapped. "We had to go in today! I needed soldiers, not _super heroes_." He told them. "Ah told ya'll six months ago that RIGHT was gonna be a problem, but ya'll blew me off….said "they don't have th' resources t' be a significant threat anymore" …..we're set fer th' next three years off th' money we stole from 'em." He said sarcastically.

"We warned ye not to trust the government! We warned ye Trask was still working on Nimrod, but ye wouldn't listen and ye wouldn't help us!" Theresa said angrily.

"We can't go to war with the government!" Scott yelled. "That's goes against everything the institute stands for!"

"**We** just saved the institute!" Theresa shot back. "It wouldn't be standing at all if…."

"This fighting must end!" Ororo interrupted as she stared across the table at Scott, Sam and Theresa. "The Lesotho have a proverb, _**when grasshoppers fight, the crows rejoice**_. We are a house divided while our enemies are united and moving against us as we speak." She said. "These children Trask is holding captive are more important than who was right and instead of arguing, we should be planning to rescue them!"

"Ah've got a plan." Sam said. "Ya'll don't have t' get involved…."

"They've aided the RIGHT in attacking the school, we _**are**_ involved." Ororo said emphatically. "Do you know where they're holding the children?" She asked after a moment.

"Hodge doesn't know….his goons just grab 'em and Trask's goons pick 'em up…." Sam said.

"How did you find Callie and the others when we couldn't even locate them with Cerebro?" Scott asked. Callie's father, Giancarlo Betto, had known Xavier for years and even grown the Institute's hedge maze for him. When his daughter had gone missing, he and his wife had immediately contacted the professor for help finding her.

"Its amazing what ye can learn from a criminal." Theresa said sarcastically.

"Cypher's been watching 'em fer a while and he knew they were up to somethin' big, so we sent Mike in about a month ago to spy on 'em and plant some of Cypher's spyware in their system." Sam said. "Mike's good, but somethin' spooked Hodge and Trask sent him the Nimrod prototypes to kill us when we came fer th' kids…"

"Based on what we got from Hodge, this is all Bolivar's work, but Larry _must_ know something and I don't trust SHIELD to figure it all out in time to help those kids." Theresa explained.

"So you're sending Mike after him?" Scott asked. It was the only plan that really made sense; Trask Industries was protected by mutant detectors and sentinels; Holmes was the only one who could get at Larry. Despite the fact that Trask Industries had been caught red-handed aiding genocidal terrorists, going after Larry Trask was still posed a danger to the future of the institute if X-Force was caught. Still, there was no option now that Bolivar had kidnapped those children and Scott knew they had to move fast before he had a chance to disappear. Ororo had always been one of Xavier's most loyal and dedicated students, but since Genosha she'd also advocated a more proactive role for the X-Men. She didn't agree with the more extreme methods X-Force employed, but it was clear that a compromise was needed and it was clear they should have listened to her.

"That's why he's here." Theresa said.

"If ya'll come with us, yer're playin' by our rules….this is our mission and Ah'm not sharin' command." Sam said. "During th' war we usually worked as two five man teams….Ah can adapt our plan fer that." He explained. Sam didn't think the X-Men would ever accept them again and he didn't think this joint mission would change that, but he was determined to bring those kids home safe. Scott didn't look at all pleased about taking orders from Sam, but X-Force had fought the Nimrod sentinels and they had more experience dealing with Trask Industries security measures.

"All right Sam….just don't get in over your head again." Scott said, deciding those children were more important than a bruised ego. "We need to know what we're up against….do we know if these new sentinels are operational yet?"

"No….they're still in development" Sam said. "That's what th' kids are fer….he's developing nanomorphic molecular tissue and mind control nanites….he's turnin' th' kids into sentinels…."

"Dear God….how is that even possible?" Scott asked.

"Cypher, Mike and Forge think it has to be some kind of future tech he got from Nimrod's memory core." Theresa told them. "Hodge is insane and Bolivar doesn't really trust him….but he needed his help to deal with us….and with ye."

"**You** get wiped out on your mission by the sentinels, then **we** get killed in our sleep by the kids after we _save_ them." Scott grumbled as the plan became clear to him. Judging by the information Cypher and Tabitha had stolen; Hodge had further refined Dr. Moreau's twisted science, rendering the genetic changes almost undetectable. Once the kids _"programming"_ was activated, they would have shutdown the institutes defense systems and attacked from within while RIGHT swarmed in and slaughtered everyone. Trask would then be free to pursue whatever horrible plan he'd concocted while RIGHT took the heat for the destruction of the institute.

"Then why is Trask engaged in these ungodly experiments if the Gengineer's method is so precise and effective?" Ororo asked.

"Hodge and RIGHT were only a means to an end." Sam said. "Besides, it only works on mutants, but Trask can theoretically turn anybody into a sentinel."

"They'd be unrecognizable and undetectable; they could be anyone, anywhere….and eventually they'd be enough of them to exterminate what's left of us." Theresa explained. Trask was refining the process by experimenting on young mutants, but once he'd perfected the procedure he'd move on to baseline humans. Trask Industries operated several clinics specializing in cybernetic surgery and Bolivar could use them to build an army of sentinels from his unsuspecting patients.

"This is madness." Ororo said in disgust.

"No, this Nimrod's plan." Sam told her. "This is th' first step toward reestablishing his timeline….these things aren't just meant for us, they're meant for th' war against th' humans."

"Nimrod was destroyed…..his memory core was smashed." Scott said.

"Was it?" Sam asked. "Ya'll saw what they wanted ya t' see…..just like those prototypes they made such a big deal about dismantling…."

"You've made your point." Scott said bluntly. "We've got a mission to plan. Now, what can you tell us about the prototype sentinels?" he asked.

"This is everything Mike saw out there." Sam said as uploaded the files to the main computer for them.

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile at Harry's Hideaway<strong>

Holmes sighed in disgust as he leaned against the bar and took another drink. He still felt terrible about Laura and Xian and he hated killing people, even evil men who tortured children. Now that the adrenaline and anger had worn off, he felt guilty and he had "the shakes" again. This vodka was so strong it was putting a strain on his healing factor, but it was just what he needed to take the edge off and relieve the nervous tremor.

"Take it easy pal….you can start a car with that stuff." Harry said as he watched him from the other end of the bar. Holmes turned and gave him a look that could have burned adamantium to ashes. He hadn't come to the bar for conversation and he didn't want or need Harry's advice on anything.

"I paid fer this horse piss, not yer advice." He said coldly.

"Right….." Harry muttered as he went back to cleaning the bar. Holmes obviously wasn't normal if he could drink 160 proof vodka straight like that and Harry assumed he must be one of Logan's teammates from the X-Men. He knew better than to press the issue, he'd seen that look too many times before and he knew Holmes had been into something _really_ bad.

'_Animal.'_ Holmes thought as he put the bottle down and looked at the hand he'd put right through that RIGHT agents chest; it wasn't shaking anymore, but he didn't feel any better. He was disgusted with himself for sitting in a bar drowning his sorrows like some damn cliché when those kids were crying for their sister and Rahne was still so upset. He should be with her right now instead of getting drunk, but he felt like a monster and he needed to be alone for a while.

* * *

><p><strong>Up the Street at The Grindstone<strong>

"You didn't have to wait for me…" Noriko said as she joined David outside on the sidewalk. She'd been talking to Luna Depaula for a while, but he'd waited on her. Noriko was grateful for her new friend's generosity, but wearing other people's clothes made her a little self-conscious, so she'd asked Luna, the owner of the coffee shop, for a job. The fact that Noriko was obviously a mutant didn't bother Luna and after talking to her, she'd told her to start tomorrow. It was going to be hard for her to balance work, school and training, but she didn't want to depend on the professor's generosity.

"I know you can take care of yourself Nori, but it's not safe…the Reavers have gotten brave." He told her as they headed further into town to catch up with the others. Noriko scowled, she knew all about the Reavers from her time on the streets and she hated them with a passion. They were mostly just snot-nosed punks, but they could be dangerous in groups and some of them had cybernetic augmentations.

"I hate Reavers." She told him. She'd wanted to believe she was safe here, that they'd never dare to come so close to the institute, but deep down she knew better. They hurried to catch up to the others, everyone but David was obviously a mutant and they'd make easy targets. Alani's body was covered in bright red tattoo-like markings, Megan had pink hair and wings, Cessily's was made of living metal, Victor looked like a lizard and she had neon blue hair and gold eyes.

"They attacked you?" He asked. He knew Noriko must have had an awful time living on the streets with her powers out of control and he really felt bad for her. He didn't understand how her parents could disown her and he found it ironic that a man who really had every right to hate mutants cared more about her than they did.

"I don't want to talk about it." Noriko told him as they rejoined the others. "What are you not telling me about Mike?" She asked, changing the subject.

"I **can't** talk about it Nori…" He said. "I'm sorry; I know you care about him, but I can't talk about what happens in the medical bay."

"He blew up again didn't he?" She asked.

"Yeah." David admitted, since Noriko seemed to know already. "Dr. Reyes had to calm him down…..apparently they know each other from the war." He said. Holmes wasn't in any mood to be examined by Dr. McCoy after he woke up and saw Laura and Xian in the pods beside him and he'd been really ugly about it.

"Was he messed up about Laura?" Noriko asked. She wanted to believe Mike was as good and kind as she thought he was, but his temper made her wonder.

"Yeah, but it's more than that…..." David said as Noriko stopped and looked across the street at Holmes' car parked at Harry's Hideaway. She was clearly disappointed in him and David knew how she felt, he looked up to Danielle, but he was disgusted by her behavior earlier. Still, they'd both been through hell and he knew he and Noriko shouldn't expect them to be perfect.

"Oh _**snap**_…" Alani said as they all heard the loud pipes of Logan's motorcycle as he came flying around the curve at the end of the road and headed straight for Harry's Hideaway, and Holmes. He'd been in New York on personal business, but the news of Laura's injury had sent him rushing back to the institute. He was beyond angry; he had Laura in school with the other kids trying to undo the damage and he'd forbidden her from going on missions. He couldn't believe Sam had let her go, much less Mike; he knew what Laura had gone through and he should have stopped her. He saw Holmes' car and he skidded to a stop in the parking lot, jumped off and went in after him.

"What?!" Noriko asked. She hadn't met Logan yet and didn't know about his relationship with Laura.

"Laura is_ his_ clone…..he's her **dad** for lack of a better term." David explained as he exchanged worried looks with the others.

"Oh shit." Noriko said as she watched him go in.

"This should be good." Julian said as he, Santo and Brian walked up and joined them. They were pretty pissed off about what had happened to Josh and they'd come to town to blow off some steam. Julian was still humiliated by what had happened with Noriko the day before and seeing Holmes get beaten up was too good to miss.

"Yeah, I got twenty bucks says Wrath doesn't last a minute with Wolverine." Santo said derisively as Brian and Julian laughed. David and Victor both gave them disgusted looks, Julian was a spoiled rich brat, Santo was thoughtless and Brian was just a jerk sometimes.

"Shut up!" Noriko snapped as she glared at the hulking stone giant.

* * *

><p><strong>Harry's Hideaway<strong>

"Shit…." Holmes muttered as Logan walked through the door. He took another drink and got up to talk to him, but Logan was in no mood to talk.

"You son of a bitch!" Logan yelled as he walked up and slammed his fist into Holmes' face so hard he almost knocked him down. "You know what she's been through, but you used her just like those bastards that made her!" He yelled as Holmes recovered and glared at him. "I brought her here to have a life and I'm not gonna let you and X-Force take it away from her!" He roared as he tried to hit him again. Holmes grabbed his fist and hurled him through the side of the bar, smashing it.

"Where th' hell do you get off actin' like father of th' year?!" Holmes yelled as he spat out blood. Logan had busted his lip, but comparing him to **The Facility** made him so angry he just didn't care anymore. "Been nice if you were so damn concerned about her that night she ran off after she stabbed me!" He yelled. "Where were ya then?! What was more important than Laura?!"

"Damn you…" Logan growled as he got his feet and popped his claws. Holmes was drunk, angry and he wasn't holding back. He was stronger, faster and almost as ferocious in battle, but Logan was so angry he didn't care either and he flew at Holmes like a wild animal. Despite his physical advantage, Holmes was in real trouble; adamantium was extremely toxic to him and it disrupted his telepathy.

"Not again!" Harry moaned as he scrambled out of their way. Logan had been fighting for over a century and his vast experience had given him the edge over physically superior foes before, but Holmes seemed to have been born to fight and his skill was extraordinary. Logan slashed at Holmes ripping the pool table and chairs to pieces, but Holmes slammed his fist into his face and began beating him mercilessly. Logan's adamantium skeleton and healing factor saved him from Holmes' vicious blows and he struck back, slicing him in the side with his claws. Logan came after him again as he roared in pain, but Holmes whirled and kicked him across the room into the wall. He had gotten a lot more powerful than the last time they'd fought and this time neither of them was holding anything back. Logan got to his feet and managed to roll out of the way just in time as Holmes charged and slammed his boot through the wall where he'd been standing. They flew at each other again and tore the place apart in a vicious brawl. Holmes was giving Logan a beating, but he was drunk and he couldn't evade all of his attacks in such a confined area.

Holmes yelled in pain as Logan slashed him in the upper arm and slammed him face first through a table. The pain from the wounds was the worst he'd ever felt and the skin around the gashes was already beginning to fester. His healing factor couldn't keep up and he needed to knock Logan out quickly before he got too sick from the adamantium poisoning. Holmes barley avoided being impaled by Logan's claws as he whirled and managed to sweep his legs out from under him. Holmes scrambled away and dragged himself to his feet as Logan roared in rage and came at him again. Holmes was ready for him and slammed a kick into the side of his face, knocking him into the wall again. The force of the blow nearly decapitated him, but he was almost impossible to stop and Holmes didn't let up his assault for a second. His fist was smashing into Logan's skull like a jack hammer and it looked like he might _finally_ have the upper hand on him.

"Laura **asked** to come with us!" He yelled as he buried his fist in his gut. "She doesn't know how to be normal! She can't just turn it off! Can't you see she's miserable?!" Holmes yelled as he snatched Logan up and hurled him through the window, out into the parking lot. When he'd been in Laura's mind he'd felt her pain and her guilt; she felt like a monster and she hated her life. Saving those kids had given her a purpose and she wanted to live again.

"What the hell?!" Santo exclaimed as Logan landed in the parking lot amidst a shower of glass and debris. He barely managed to roll out of the way as Holmes leaped through the broken window and slammed his fist into the ground where Logan had been, splitting the asphalt from the force of the blow. Logan kicked Holmes in the face as hard as he could, but Holmes shrugged it off and nailed him with a vicious uppercut. The tremendous force of the blow knocked him into the air, but Holmes leaped, flipped and kicked him, sending him headfirst into the asphalt.

"Stay down!" he yelled as he snatched Logan up and punched him in the face as hard as he could. He was beginning to sober up from the pain and he knew what he was doing was wrong, but he kept hitting him. Logan was a bloody mess, but like Holmes, he was just too angry and hurt to stop fighting and he slashed Holmes across the chest, spraying blood everywhere. Holmes staggered backward and dropped to one knee as the pain and nausea overwhelmed him. The toxic reaction to the adamantium was taking it's toll and he'd nearly reached his limit. Logan fell to his knees as well, Holmes had absolutely beaten the hell out of him and he was barely conscious.

"_You_ stay down…." Logan groaned as they both staggered to their feet and glared at each other. They were both immune to fatigue toxins building up in their muscles, but the fight couldn't go on forever. Logan was healing, but Holmes wasn't and he was quickly losing the advantage despite his superior strength and agility.

"Screw you." Holmes growled.

Noriko couldn't stand to see anymore, she thought Mike and Logan were going to kill each other and she wasn't just going to stand and watch. This fight was pointless; it certainly wasn't helping Laura and she was going to put an end to it. She could channel the electrical energy she absorbed into devastating blasts or burst of superhuman speed and time seemed to slow down for her as she raced across the street into the battle.

"Stop it!" Noriko screamed as she ran in and slammed her fist into Holmes jaw. She was only 5'4" and 110lbs but she packed an incredible punch at that speed and she send Holmes crashing to the ground. She whirled before Logan had time to react and blasted him across the parking lot.

"Help her before they kill each other!" Julian ordered as he and the others went to help her separate them. He'd wanted to see Holmes get beaten up and humiliated, but he never dreamed he'd be able to manhandle Logan like that, or that either of them would go so far. He'd just gotten a healthy dose of reality and he didn't think it was funny anymore. Fortunately, Noriko had gotten their attention and they weren't about to endanger the kids with their pointless fight.

"Put me down Keller, it's over!" Logan snapped as Julian held him in the air with his powers.

"It's ok Nori, it's over…." Holmes said as she knelt down beside him to keep him from getting up. He could see how disappointed in him she was and he was really ashamed of everything he'd done. Logan had every right to be angry and he shouldn't have attacked him the way he had. He knew Noriko, Megan and Cessily must think he was some kind of monster now and they were right.

"What's wrong with you?!" She yelled. "You two act like animals! Is **this** who you really are?!" she asked as a tear ran down her cheek.

"No….." Holmes said as he sat up and looked into her eyes.

"I want to believe that…." She said. "But you're scaring me….you need help." She told him. He felt like he'd been hit with a sledgehammer; he cared about Noriko and wanted to help her, but he could see the fear in her eyes now. He'd known he wasn't himself for a while, but he hadn't been able to admit how far he'd fallen until now. He was probably the fist person Noriko had trusted in a long time, but now he'd betrayed her too.

"I'm sorry." He said, trying to control his emotions. "I didn't mean to hurt you…you trusted me and I….." He couldn't finish, he was suddenly wracked with pain and nausea from his injuries.

"Mike?! Oh….Oh crap! David!" she yelled as Holmes turned away and vomited. He was starting to turn really pale and it was obvious he was in terrible pain. His healing factor was already stressed from drinking too much and he couldn't purge the toxins from his blood fast enough anymore.

"I'll be alright…" he grunted.

"No, you won't…..this looks like some kind of blood poisoning…." David said as he ripped open Holmes shirt and examined the wounds. It was obvious to him he was having some type of serious reaction to the adamantium covering Logan's claws and it looked like it was impeding his healing factor. "We need to get him back to the Medical Bay! Help me get him in the car!" he yelled as Logan helped Holmes into the passenger seat of his car and Noriko got in with him.

"Can you drive a stick kid?" Logan asked as David jumped into the driver's seat.

"I can today!" He said as he slammed the door and gunned the engine, roaring out of the parking lot toward the mansion. He'd never driven anything as powerful as the Boss, but his power was to copy the skills and knowledge of others so he had no problem driving it.

"That's going on YouTube." Santo snickered as Logan watched them drive away. Logan was pretty ashamed of himself as well for fighting in front of the kids. Nobody won that fight and he wasn't in the mood for Santo's stupid comments. "Um….I'll be leaving now…." Santo said sheepishly as Logan turned and glared at him.

"Go home, **now**." He said sternly as they left and he went to settle things with Harry. That fight should never have happened and it shouldn't have taken a sixteen year old girl to make them both see reason. They hadn't liked each other for years, but there had always been a grudging respect between the two of them. However, they both cared so deeply about Laura that they had acted on raw emotion and given in to their baser instincts. They both regretted what they done, but they regretted what they'd said to each other even more.

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile in the Briefing Room<strong>

"You know; if Cypher can't hack the Mark I's A.I. then this going to be a suicide mission…." Scott said. Sam's plan looked good on paper, but it was the execution that concerned him and after their near miss earlier in the day, he was less confident in Sam's leadership. They still didn't know where they were going or exactly what they would face when they got there.

"Cypher's never let us down before, if he says he can do it, then he can do it." Sam said in an irritated tone. He was tired of Scott questioning his plan and his team; Cypher might be a criminal, but so was Emma and Sam was tired of the double standard.

"Ok Sam….I'm trusting you." Scott told him

"Ah appreciate that." Sam said. "Ah know after what happened with Laura and Josh that has to be hard for both of ya." He said. "There's nothing Ah can say that will make this right." He said, turning to Ororo. "Ah took one of your students and now another ones in a coma because of it….Ah'd take Josh's place if Ah could, but all Ah can do is take responsibility." He told her. "Ah don't have th' right t' ask ya this, but if yer're lookin' fer someone t' blame, then blame me, don't fire Rahne or hold th' others responsible….it was ma decision."

"Is that your idea of an apology?" Scott asked.

"Ah'm not about t' apologize to _**you**_ fer anything Ah've done." Sam said emphatically. "Ah was tryin' t' give Laura a purpose again…." He said.

"By using her as a weapon?!" Scott asked incredulously.

"Ah didn't use Laura as a weapon!" Sam shot back. "Ah let her make a decision about what she wants to do with her life!" he said. "Ya'll have never given her a choice in anything! Ya'll just order her around like th' Facility did…."

"We're trying to rehabilitate her." Ororo explained, although she could see that Sam might have a point.

"She's miserable, she doesn't have a reason to live anymore and it's killin' her." Sam said.

"She wants to help people to try to make up for all the terrible things she was forced to do." Theresa said. "Ye won't let her help ye so she came to us….." She explained.

"She couldn't stand th' thought of those kids being tortured th' way she was…..Ah had too much respect fer her right then t' tell her no." Sam said. "She's not a monster…..she didn't come with us t' kill people, she came to save those kids." He said.

"I know why she asked to accompany you and I respect her decision. I know your heart was in the right place Sam, I know you want to help Laura but the fact remains, you took her without my permission." Ororo said sternly. "We're not training the next generation of soldiers; we're staying true to the professor's dream."

"Don't lecture me about th' dream, we've bled and we've died fer th' dream." Sam said angrily. "We're done dreamin'! We're awake and we're fightin' fer our right t' exist! We're fightin' so these kids don't have t' grow up th' way we did!" He said as years of anger and frustration boiled over. "This place would be ashes right now if it wasn't fer us, so A'hm through givin' a damn if our methods offend ya'll!" He yelled. "We're not always proud of what we do, but we realized a long time ago that th' world ain't black and white and sometimes we have t' get dirty t' protect our freedom and give these kids th' life they deserve." He said as he stared across the table at both of them with grim resolve.

"Sam, we have to be better than they are." Scott said.

"We are." Sam said coldly. "We protect this place and defend th' innocent….we don't play by _**their**_ rules, but we're not murderers and we're not terrorists." He said.

"Don't act like ye're so much better than we are." Theresa said angrily. "Ye've killed when ye had to, ye've overthrown governments, ye've even teamed with th' bloody Brotherhood when it suited ye." She reminded them.

"Things are different now." Ororo reminded her.

"Aye, th' worlds gone _completely_ to hell now." Theresa said. "Ye've got the school to think about, ye've got to be hero's again, we get that." She said. "Let us do wha' has to be done…..wha' ye can't be seen doing."

"Do you realize what you're asking?" Ororo asked her.

"Yes…and I wish there was another way." Theresa replied.

"So do Ah, but it's not fair to those kids not to do everything in our power to protect them." Sam said. "Schools shouldn't have graveyards…..how many more are gonna end up there with Illyana?!" He asked angrily. "If ya'll wanna die fer th' professor's principles then that's yer choice, but don't force these kids to pay fer yer idealism." He told them.

"Ye could have stopped Pierce before he tortured Rahne and Roberto, ye could have stopped Stryker before he took Dani's powers and ye could have stopped Hodge before he got to these kids." Theresa told them. "We're not willing to wait fer them to come after us…..fer these kids to die before we act…..we're taking them down first." She said coldly. Their words cut to the bone and both Ororo and Scott felt a deep sense of regret for all that the New Mutants had endured. Everything they'd said was true and while she couldn't agree with everything they'd done; she knew they were right about the children and something had to be done. Ororo sighed as she leaned back in her chair and looked across the table at Scott; he didn't seem nearly as confident in his position as he had earlier. They both felt dirty, like they were betraying the professor, but Sam and Theresa lived with this feeling everyday and with the revelation of the sentinels, it was time for action.

"Take Scott's team with you and end this madness." Ororo said, breaking the long silence. "I don't know that we can find a way to coexist Sam, but I'm willing to try….well talk again after the mission." She said.

"That's all I can ask fer." Sam said.

"Is your team going to be ready?" Scott asked.

"Ma team can handle anything." Sam said. "You need to be concerned with yer own people….I don't want you bringin' some ego maniac like M whose gonna cause trouble, we need th' best on this one."

"I can handle my people, you just keep Mike in line….he doesn't seem to play well with others." Scott told him.

"Maybe if ya'll didn't treat him different…."

"Logan and Mike just got in a fight!" Kitty interrupted as she phased through the door. They all headed out to deal with this latest crisis and Ororo prayed that this wasn't a harbinger of things to come between the two teams. Scott and Sam went to deal with the situation at Harry's while Ororo and Theresa checked on Holmes and talked with Noriko and David.

* * *

><p><strong>Medical Bay<strong>

**Intensive Care Unit**

**-Two Hour Later-**

"Ugh….damn it…." Holmes groaned as waked and found himself inside one of the Shiar healing pods again. His body still ached even though the machine had completely healed his wounds and purged his blood. He was completely sober now and thoroughly disgusted with himself for the way he'd acted; he didn't know what he was going to say to Sam or Rahne and he wouldn't blame Sam if he fired him.

There was a sudden hiss of air as the pod opened and he sat up, still a little groggy. He was glad to see that his wounds hadn't left scars this time thanks to the Shiar equipment supercharging his healing factor. He had enough already from being tortured by Mikhail and being attacked by Laura. His healing factor was no where near as strong as Logan's; adamantium counteracted it and it needed time to recover after repairing serious injuries.

"You healed a lot quicker than we thought you would." Sharon said as she pulled back one of the curtains surrounding his pod. "I brought you some clothes." She said as she handed him some hospital scrubs to wear. His clothes had been ruined in the fight and patients couldn't wear clothes in the pods anyway.

"Thanks." Holmes said as he got up and dressed while Sharon examined the data from the pod. The Shiar equipment couldn't precisely determine what Holmes was either, but had picked up a variation in his genetic code that all the earlier scans and tests had missed. Dr. McCoy didn't know what to make of it and Dr. Nemesis had never seen anything like it either. Holmes shared 99% of his DNA with baseline humans, but according to the scan he was a different species. The variation was slight, but its effects were significant and it was completely different from the X-Gene. Dr. McCoy didn't want to tell Holmes until Dr. MacTaggert could confirm the results and offer her opinion. Rahne's mother was the world's leading geneticist, but this mystery might be beyond even her knowledge.

"How are you feeling?" Sharon asked as she finished the download.

"Like an asshole." Holmes told her.

"Good." Sharon replied. "Rahne and Noriko have been worried about you….everyone has, especially those kids you saved." She said.

"Where are they?" he asked.

"Outside, but Dr. McCoy wants to run some more tests on you." She said.

"He can wait..." Holmes said as he pushed the other curtain aside and locked eyes with Logan. "How is she?" he asked as he walked over and looked into the pod at Laura. Logan had been by her side since he'd returned and she was still sleeping peacefully as she recovered.

"Beast says she's fine, she just needs to rest." Logan said as he got up. "Look Mike, I still want to rip your heart out for letting her go, but thanks for making that deal with Spiral to save her." He told him.

"I didn't want her to go either Logan, but it was important to her." He said quietly. "In spite of everything they did to make her a monster, she's not….she proved it today."

"Yeah…she did." He said as he looked down at Laura. "Do you need help with Spiral?" He asked after a moment.

"It's ma fight." Holmes said bluntly. "Whatever happens it's worth it….I'll go to hell before I fail Laura again." He told him.

"We all failed her…everyone in her whole life except that kid you told me about." Logan said.

"Nix is special." Holmes said.

"Did you mean what you said about Laura being miserable this whole time?" Logan asked.

"I meant _everything_ I said." Holmes told him. "And I regret _some_ of it." He added.

"_Some?_" Logan asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, _some_." Holmes said angrily. "Laura** is** miserable, she feels guilty, she hates her life and she thinks she's a monster." He said. "I wish she could be like all th' other kids here, but she just doesn't know how. Savin' those kids made her want to live again; it gave her hope fer once in her life." He explained.

"What do you know?!" Logan snapped.

"I went in her mind to t' try t' turn off her pain receptors….I couldn't break through all her defenses, but I could feel everything she was feelin'." Holmes told him. He turned away for a moment and took a deep breath as he tried to get control of his emotions again. As strong and hard as Holmes was he felt like he was going to throw up thinking about it and nothing could dull the pain and sorrow he felt for Laura. Dr. Rice tortured Laura to make her attack when exposed to "trigger scent," he'd tortured her to trigger her mutation early and he hadn't sedated her when he'd removed her claws to bond them with adamantium. The man was pure evil and there was no end to his cruelty; he'd made her kill her puppy when she was seven, he'd taken away her identity, her dignity, her innocence, her hope and finally he'd taken away her mother.

"Mike?"

"Weapon X was nothing compared to what they did to her….that bastard Rice tortured her worse than Mikhail tortured me." He said angrily. "I've seen evil Logan….I've seen th' devil himself, but this is so sick it hurts to think about it, I feel like I'm suffocating…." He said. "We were Avengers damn it, we were supposed to stop shit like this….why didn't we know?! Why didn't we stop it?!" he asked angrily. "We let those godless, amoral sons of bitches destroy th' life of an innocent child." Holmes said with contempt.

"Yeah….we did….and I'm not gonna let it happen again. I don't want her involved in this." Logan said as Holmes looked into the pod at Laura.

"Give her th' chance to be th' hero she's wants t' be….let her fight with th' X-Men." Holmes said. Laura wanted to make amends for her past by using her life to help others and she finally had a future to look forward too.

"She doesn't know what she wants!" Logan snapped.

"She wants to help people!" Holmes said. "Why can't you respect her decision?!"

"Don't tell me how to be her father!" Logan said angrily as he turned to Holmes.

"Then **be** her father." Holmes said as he stood his ground and they glared at each other again. Logan was really angry, but deep down he knew Mike was right; he wasn't a good father to Laura. She was jealous and hurt that he spent more time with Jubilee than he did with her and Remy had admonished him for it.

"I don't know what's going on between you two, but you both need to grow up and let it go." Sharon said. "Your love for Laura should bring you together, not tear you apart…..she has enough pain and misery in her life already without you two fighting like this over her." She told them.

"Laura is _**my**_ responsibility." Logan said gruffly.

"This isn't about you." Holmes said in a disgusted tone as he turned and walked away.

* * *

><p><strong>Main Medical Bay<strong>

"Thank ye fer taking care of him." Rahne said as Noriko finished telling her what had happened. She was hurt that he hadn't come to check on her and she was disappointed in his behavior even though Logan had started the fight. Noriko didn't like seeing Rahne so upset and she was angry at Mike for making her worry about him. Rahne had been so kind to her and she wished there was something more she could do to help her feel better, but she really had no clue what she was going through. Her cuts and bruises still hadn't completely healed and she was exhausted from her transformation, but she wanted to be sure Mike was going to be alright.

"He's a complete idiot….but he's still my friend." Noriko said. "I don't know what's wrong with him….yesterday he was the nicest guy ever, but today…..I've never seen anything like that….I thought they were going to kill each other." She admitted.

"I'll nae try tae defend wha' he did, but I do understand it." Rahne told her. "Tha's wha' this life will do tae ye Noriko….if ye fight monsters long enough, if ye see as much pain and violence as we have….it can be hard tae remember who ye are sometimes…" She sighed. Noriko knew Rahne was right, but it was still hard to accept that someone who had been so kind to her could have such darkness in them as well. She heard the automatic doors open and she looked up as Holmes stepped out of the intensive care unit.

"I'm sorry Rahne." He said as she walked up to him and the pair embraced. "There's no excuse fer what I did. I was really selfish…if ya give me another chance, I'll always put ya first and I'll never do anything to make ya ashamed of me again." He said.

"I fergive ye…..I acted like an animal today too." She said as they held each other.

"That wasn't you Rahne…..that wasn't natural." He told her as he looked into her eyes. "You didn't have a choice….Hodge might have killed us if ya hadn't stopped him when ya did." He said. He could see how upset she was and he felt even more terrible for not checking on her when he'd gotten back. He realized she had the same fears and doubts that he did and he felt like a fool for not being more sensitive to her.

"I'm sorry I hurt ye…" She said, remembering how she'd sliced his forearm open with her claws.

"I'm sorry fer hurtin' you." He said as he held her close.

"You should be." Noriko said bluntly as she got up to leave. "She's been down here the whole time _you_ were asleep." She told him.

"I'm sorry I hurt you too Nori." He said despondently.

"It's ok….I got to punch you in the face for it, so we're even." She told him. Holmes nodded as she left and went back upstairs to her room. He wanted to be better for Rahne, but the wanted to be better for Noriko, Laura, Mark and the others as well and he really felt bad that he'd let them all down like this.

"Rahne, we need t' talk." He said as the left the medical bay.

"We do." She agreed. "But first, ye need a shower...ye smell like haggis and a night full of bad decisions." She said as she followed him to his room.

* * *

><p><strong>The East Wing<strong>

**-Sam and Tabitha's Room-**

"Ah'm not any better than Cable…" Sam sighed as he sat down on the edge of the bed beside Tabitha. She sat up, wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder as he reached down and held her hand. It wasn't often that Sam doubted himself, but she was always there for him when his confidence was shaken. She knew he still felt terrible about what had happened to Laura and he was worried about Mike as well. That fight had proved just how badly he needed help and Sam felt guilty about sending him on the mission in the shape he was in.

"That's not true and you know it, don't do this to yourself." She said as she held him close.

"Ah'm driving ya'll too hard….Ah don't want th' rest of ya'll t' end up like Mike." He said despondently.

"You didn't break Mike." She said emphatically.

"No, but Ah'm sending him out even though Ah know he's broken." Sam said, remembering how Cable had treated Rahne during the war. He told them that the mission always came first and that defeating Apocalypse was worth it, whatever the cost.

"Mike came to you, he volunteered for this." Tabitha reminded him.

"That doesn't give me th' right to take away what humanity he's got left." Sam told her.

"You're a good leader Sam, but more than that, you're a good man and that's why I love you." Tabitha said gently. "I know how important we all are to you, but ultimately it has to be Mike's decision to get help." She said. "I think after what happened; he'll make the right decision. He believes in the team and he cares about Rahne….you just need to make sure he knows you still believe in him." She told him. Sam turned and kissed her, grateful for her love and understanding. The mission could end the sentinel threat for good, but it was more dangerous than anything they'd done since the war and the burden of leadership had never felt heavier.

* * *

><p><strong>The East Wing<strong>

**-Mike's Room-**

Holmes pulled on a pair of pajama pants and stepped out of the bathroom after his shower. Rahne had been waiting to talk with him, but she was so exhausted she'd fallen asleep on his bed. _'I promise I'll never treat you so badly again…' _he thought to himself as he picked up his Bible she'd been reading and turned out the lamp. He had serious doubts about himself; he was done with getting drunk, but he was still worried he might snap again. He'd never forgive himself if he hurt Rahne and he wondered if he was really good enough for her. He was touched by how quickly she had forgiven him; he didn't deserve it, he'd treated her shamefully.

'_I should have come crawling to you instead of crawling in that bottle….' _He thought as he knelt down to pray. Holmes was on his knees a long time that night, asking for forgiveness and confessing all his sins, fears and doubts to God and asking for his guidance. He prayed for the children they'd saved and for those they were going after. He prayed for Laura and Xian and that he would be able to help both of them build a new life. He prayed for Rahne and their relationship; that he could be the man he needed to be for her. He prayed for his teammates and the challenges they were facing in their lives. Finally, he prayed for their mission and an end to the threat to the school; he prayed that Xavier's dream would one day become reality.

* * *

><p><strong>The East Wing<strong>

**-Mark and Nicholas' Room-**

Mark lay in bed, staring at the ceiling; he still couldn't quite believe everything that had happened that day. He'd started the day in a cage, but now he safe and comfortable again thanks to the heroic actions of X-Force. He was grateful to be alive; grateful to be able to see his mother again tomorrow, but his joy was tainted with sadness when he thought of Laura. She'd sacrificed everything to bring them home and he was shocked and angry to learn how she'd been treated.

He wished he could just go to sleep and forget this ever happened; but he'd never be the same again and he knew it. He wasn't really thrilled with the idea of going to school at Xavier's but after what had happened he knew it was the best place for him and he didn't want to risk anything happening to his mother because he was a mutant. He tried to make himself feel better by reminding himself the school was full of beautiful girls, but even that didn't help much. He admired Mike and Laura's bravery, but he didn't want to end up impaled or burned like they had been. He wondered if any of the other kids had these same fears and doubts or if they just didn't realize what could happen.

He couldn't sleep and he really wished he had someone to talk about all this with besides Nicholas. He was too young to really understand what Mark was dealing with and he was too traumatized to be any help. He'd pulled all the sheets off his bed and curled up under it like a wolf in its den. Mark felt bad for him and even though he really didn't want a needy little brother tagging along with him, Nicholas didn't have anyone else to care about him.

"Mark? You still up?" Callie whispered as she opened the door just enough to peek inside. She needed someone to talk to as well and she felt she could trust Mark after their week of captivity.

"Yeah…..I can't sleep either…" Mark said as he sat up in bed. He had come to respect Callie's gentle nature and quiet strength during their captivity and he was grateful for her company.

"Where's Nicholas?" She asked as she closed the door.

"Under there." Mark said, pointing at his empty bed.

"He's like a little wolf cub isn't he?" She said as she peeked under the bed at her sleeping friend.

"Yeah….he's different." Mark said.

"Can I stay with you for a while?" She asked as she came and sat down next to him.

"Yeah….I missed our talks." He said as put his arm around her and hugged her. "Thanks for everything you did for me when we were locked up Callie….I was hurt and scared and I just wanted to give up." He admitted.

"So did I, but you helped me too." She said. "I thought you were the brave one." She said, blushing slightly.

"No….Shan was the brave one." He said despondently.

"Yeah, I really hope she's gonna be ok….Laura too." Callie said.

"I wish we could have helped….I feel like a coward…." Mark told her.

"What were we going to do?" Callie sighed. "My powers are pretty useless in a fight and yours don't work without an Ipod." She reminded him. "We're not like Mike and Laura…and I don't want to be."

"I don't think they do either." Mark said, remembering how depressed Mike seemed on the flight home. He and the rest of X-Force had obviously seen a lot of hardship and that mission was nothing like the superhero stories he'd heard growing up. "I don't want to be some kind of super soldier….but I liked what Ms. Munro said about helping people." He said.

"Yeah, she was really amazing." Callie agreed. "I'm gonna miss my mom and dad, but I think I'm gonna stay too…I feel normal for once." She said after a moment. Everyone knew her father was a mutant and everyone had always assumed she was as well, so she'd always felt a little out of place. She was also over six feet tall and not particularly well endowed which made her a little awkward around boys.

"Nobody's going to care about your ears here, that's for sure." Mark said, trying to cheer her up. "I don't see what the big deal was anyway."

"You don't think I look weird?" She asked. "I'm taller than you…."

"Maybe I like tall women." Mark said as he leaned in and kissed her. Callie was shocked; she'd never been kissed and even though she though she liked Mark and thought he was gorgeous, she hadn't considered a relationship now that they were free.

"Mark….I like you too….but I think I need some time to sort all this out…." Callie said quietly. Mark slept in his boxers and they left practically nothing to the imagination; her heart was racing after just one kiss and she felt hot all over. He was clearly more experienced than she was and this was too fast for her after what had just happened.

"I'm sorry….I really thought we were gonna die and now that I've got another chance I wanted to make the most of it." He told her.

"It's ok, I liked it." She said reassuringly. "I'm not taking anything for granted anymore either, but _this_ is not something I'm going to rush into." She said emphatically. Mark realized she was reading more into that kiss than he meant, but maybe it was time he got serious about one girl and Callie was certainly worth getting serious about.

"We've got time." Mark told her. "Do you know which squad you're going to now that you're staying?" he asked after an awkward silence.

"No, do you?" she asked.

"They're putting together a new squad, the Paragons, under Ms. Sinclair…that werewolf lady." Mark told her. "Me and Nicholas are going with her….maybe they'll put you with us." He said hopefully.

"Yeah, that Pixie girl is on that team too….she's sweet." Callie said. "I don't know what help I'm going to be though….what am I going to do, throw flowers at a bad guy?" she asked.

"We can worry about that tomorrow." Mark said as he yawned. Callie nodded, she was tired too and she thought she might be able to sleep now. She felt safe with her friends in the institute and she knew that Mike, Sam, Tabitha and James were right down the hall as well. She knew they wouldn't let anything happen to them and she settled in next to Mark, thankful to have them watching over her.

* * *

><p><strong>The East Wing<strong>

**-Mike's Room-**

Lightning split the sky, illuminating the whole bedroom as the rain poured down and the storm raged outside. Mike felt the thunder shake the whole house as he sat up and checked on Rahne who was still sleeping peacefully despite the fury of the storm. He lay back on the folding cot he'd pulled out of the closet to sleep on and stared up at the ceiling as another bolt of lightning flashed through the sky and lit the room again. He'd waked about 1:00 AM when the storm hit and he hadn't been able to sleep since. The old cot was a lot more comfortable than the cold concrete floor of a bunker, a filthy ditch or one of the fetid sewers he'd called home during the war, but every roar of thunder reminded him of an exploding shell and the lighting tracer fire and energy blasts from the Infinites guns. Even a year later, he could still smell the stench of the battlefield and hear the screams of dying men and he wondered if the war would ever really end for him.

He closed his eyes and prayed for God's help in overcoming this, but he knew he had to be willing to do his part as well. He knew it was past time he let go of his pride and anger and got professional help. He didn't care if people thought he was crazy or weak anymore, he never wanted to see that look in Rahne and Noriko's eyes ever again. It wasn't going to be easy; he hadn't even been able to talk to his father about what he'd experienced and he'd rather take on the sentinels than talk to some doctor about it.

'_One day at a time….'_ He thought as he rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. _'I've got to find those kids first…' _he told himself. Focusing on saving the kids made him feel a little better, but just as he was falling asleep again, he heard Rahne's voice. Holmes sat up startled and realized she was beginning to have a nightmare as she began to toss and turn in her sleep and cry out for her mother.

"Mum….mum, please…..I cannae…" she moaned as he got up to help her.

"Rahne! Yer're safe! It's not real!" He said as sat down next to her on the bed and tried to comfort her.

"Tabby! NO! NO!" Rahne screamed as waked in terror.

"Yer're safe! So is Tabby….nobody's gonna hurt ya'll." Mike said gently, trying to reassure her.

"Mike…" Rahne gasped. "Och…bloody hell…" she sighed as she sat up and he gathered her in his arms.

"Yer're alright, it was just a nightmare." He explained. "I get 'em bad…..I woke up and I didn't know where I was…." He admitted. Rahne leaned back against his chest, still shaking with fear as she began to cry.

"I killed Tabby…" She cried. "Tha' monster took me and I killed her…"

"It wasn't real…"

"I would ha' been if ye had nae stopped me…I went mad." She sniffed.

"I _didn't_ stop you…I couldn't." He said as he held her a little closer. "I helped, but **you** stopped th' wolf, yer're stronger than it is." He told her. Ever since Donald Pierce had warped her powers she'd been afraid she'd loose control and hurt her friends or her mother. Holmes' words helped to ease the burden of fear and guilt and he continued to hold her and comfort her as she cried.

"Thank ye." Rahne said after a moment. "I'm sorry…..I dinnae mean tae be actin' so badly." She said as she dried her eyes. She was still shaken up, but she was starting to feel better about her powers, better than she'd felt in a long time.

"I'm scared too." He admitted. "I could have killed Logan….I knew what I was doin' was wrong, but I was just so angry I didn't care….I need help Rahne."

"Ye dinnae ha' tae face this alone….I'll go wit' ye." She said as she turned and looked into his eyes. This wasn't the face he showed the rest of the team, he was completely open with her and she could see all the pain, fear, self-doubt and guilt in his eyes. "I know how much it hurts…I saw terrible things tae, I was experimented on like an animal and I had tae kill tae save Terry…." She told him. "If I could take it away from ye I would, but all I can do is help ye face it." She said.

"Thank you… I haven't been able t' talk about it to anyone….not even ma dad." Holmes said as he leaned up against the headboard and she sat beside him on the bed.

"It gets better Mike, I promise." Rahne said as she reached over and took his hand and he looked at her appreciatively. He really didn't have the words to thank Rahne for what she was trying to do for him. She had issues of her own to contend with, but she was willing to risk reopening old wounds to help him get his life back together. He still felt terrible, but he wasn't as worried as he had been about seeing a psychiatrist now that she was going to go with him.

"Muh doctor is an expert on PTSD and he understands our faith tae…he's done so much fer me and he can help ye….if ye'll let him." She said. He'd encouraged her to pursue her dreams, to live free like she always wanted to and to use her experiences to help others. Rahne had done just that, she'd slowly become more outgoing and she'd committed herself to helping the next generation of mutants. She grew further in her faith as well; Reverend MacLaren taught it wasn't a terrible burden meant to chain her down as her father had tried to make her believe. God's grace freed her from damnation and she accepted forgiveness for what she'd done and rededicated herself.

"I want t' be better fer you….and ma family." He told her. "I'll go see yer doctor after this mission." He said.

"Aye….the mission…." Rahne sighed. "Ye can ha' yui're bed back, ye need tae get some sleep."

"I can't sleep anymore." He sighed.

"I'll stay with ye then." She said.

"Thanks Rahne." He said as he started to get up to get back on the cot, but Rahne stopped him. She thought it was sweet he'd given up his bed for her, but he wasn't going to do it again. She could tell he didn't want to be alone and they were both adults, they both respected each other and they knew what this meant.

"It's big enough fer two." She told him as she scooted over to one side of the mattress. Rahne's mothering instincts had kicked in, she was lonely as well and Mike seemed to understand what she was going through better than most of the others.

"Mike….who did this tae ye?" Rahne asked as he rolled over and picked his pillow up off the cot beside the bed. He wasn't wearing anything but his pajama pants and dog tags and she could see the scars on his back even in the darkness with her powers. Laura had left two scars on his chest, his left arm and one on his face, but these were different; they looked like the marks she used to have on her back when her father whipped her with his belt. There were only a few, but she could tell they had once been serious wounds that his healing factor couldn't completely erase all traces of them.

"Mikhail Rasputin….War." He told her as he rolled back over and lay down on his pillow.

"Wha' happened?" She asked.

"Rahne….do we have t' do this now?" he asked. "Do ya really wanna deal with all ma shit after what you've been through today?"

"Yui're nae alone anymore…yui're nae th' only one who's gone through this…ye can tell me wha' happened." She said as she sat back up in bed. Mike sighed and sat back up as well, they had just met, but Rahne was so genuine in her concern for him and he was so lonely that he began to talk about his experiences with her.

"Me and Bedlam were on our way back from knockin' out one of th' power stations feedin' th' tower when Hawkeye and Black Widow's team got shot down behind th' line." He said. "We didn't wait fer orders, we went after 'em." He told her. "Jesse…Bedlam…could generate neural EMP and regular EMP and we managed to hold off th' Infinites long enough to evacuate th' others…but we didn't make it. I got hit bad and he wouldn't leave me….we'd been together since th' academy…we were like family…" He said as he wiped his eyes. "His powers finally gave out and we ended up with Mikhail….he hated humans and he beat th' hell outta me just to see me break. I think I would have too if it hadn't been fer Jesse…." He said as he started to cry again. Normally he wouldn't give in to his emotions, but somehow it didn't seem so bad to cry in front of Rahne and he just could bear the pain any longer.

"I'm so sorry….I can see how much ye loved him." Rahne said as she tried to comfort him.

"I was fourteen when I went to th' academy….I'd never really been away from ma family and I was scared, but Jesse never had a family and he was just glad to have friends as weird as he was. We got to be roommates; he made me feel better and we were best friends from then on." He told her. "I used to take him home with me at Thanksgiving and Christmas…ma folks pretty much adopted him." He said. Rahne began to understand the depth of Mike's pain; he and Jesse were more than just friends, they really were like brothers. She knew he felt bad about being separated from his family for so many years, especially his little sisters and that made Jesse's loss even harder to bear.

"He always kept me grounded….I would have been a _"superhero"_ 24-7 if it wasn't fer him….he kept me human." Holmes said after a moment. "He talked me into gettin' that car when we graduated and started gettin' paid to bust heads…got me t' have fun….got our minds off all th' blood and guts fer a while." He told her. "He was there fer me when Janice quit….and I went with him to find his brother once we found out he was still alive….that didn't end well."

"Wha' happened?" Rahne asked.

"Th' bastard was evil; he was a super villain….he wanted Jesse to join him." Holmes said. "Jesse was disgusted by him and when he found out Chris killed their parents he beat th' hell out of him." He said. "Jesse didn't give up on him though; he tried to talk to him when he was on the Raft…..but Chris disowned him. Selfish asshole; all Jesse ever wanted was a real family….but Chris stole it from him." He said as he remembered comforting his friend. He hated himself because he wasn't there for his little sisters when they needed him and he hated Chris for abandoning his little brother.

"He wasn't alone, he had ye." Rahne said as she put her hand on his shoulder. She understood exactly how Jesse felt; she'd been sad for years because she didn't have a family, but then she was adopted by Moira and after that she met Tabitha. Rahne could see that Mike and Jesse's relationship had been a lot like she and Tabitha's. Rahne cared for Tabitha and took care of her the way Mike watched over Jesse like a big brother. Tabitha encouraged Rahne live her life to the fullest and wouldn't let her dwell on tragedy, just like Jesse had done with Mike.

"We got a lot closer after that." Holmes said. "Like I said, he's what got me through it when Mikhail had us….he didn't give up on me….I couldn't give up on him." He said as he tried to keep his emotions under control. "I eventually figured out how to deactivate th' energy field on ma cell, but by then Mikhail had hooked Jesse up to his ships weapons system and he was attacking th' base on Staten Island. Jesse was nearly dead when I found him….his body couldn't take th' kind of stress that machine was puttin' on him, but he still knocked that ship outta th' air…and he saved me from Mikhail." He said as he became emotional again; he'd never told this to anyone before.

"I couldn't have taken Mikhail on ma best day, but I didn't last two minutes in th' shape I was in…." Mike said. "I wanted Jesse to run, but he wouldn't….he fried Mikhail's armor with his powers and I beat that son of a bitch to death…" he choked out. "Jesse was dead when I got back to him." He told her as he completely broke down. Rahne continued to comfort him for a few minutes until he composed himself again.

"This willnae help much now, but I'll tell ye wha' Reverend MacLaren told me…he said I had three choices, I could let it destroy me, define me, or strengthen me." She said as she put her arm around him. "Jesse loved ye, he died tae save ye and I dinnae believe he'd be happy if he knew how miserable ye are now….blamin' yuirself fer his death." She told him.

"I was ma fault…" Holmes sighed. "He died savin' _me_…."

"I was nae yuir fault!" Rahne said firmly. "Jesse didnae die so ye could feel guilty and torture yerself…he wanted ye to live, ye were his brother and he loved ye." She said emphatically. "Illyana died tae save our team back when we were New Mutants….we all felt guilty tae, but mum told us we should honor her sacrifice and ne'er take another day fer granted again. I try tae do tha' everyday, because Illyana didnae die fer nothin'!" She said as she wiped a tear from her cheek. "Live like Jesse wanted ye tae." She said as he held her close. Rahne's words weren't easy to hear, but Holmes knew she was right; Jesse had pulled him out of the hell he was in when he returned from Genosha and he'd be trying to help now if he was still alive.

"It'll be alright Rahne." Mike said as she started to cry too. "I'm not afraid to face this anymore." He said. He recognized his problems, but he didn't really seem much better and Rahne knew from her own experience that healing would take time and patience. She didn't regret beginning a relationship with him; she'd seen her share of tragedy as well and they'd both helped each other. Rahne offered a quiet prayer of thanks as they settled in for the night and soon both were asleep; able to find comfort in each other.

* * *

><p><strong>Next issue: Will it be the end of the sentinels or the end of X-Force? &amp; Who is <em>really<em> behind the threat?**

**Its a new beginning for Laura, but Xian is struggling to accept her loss until she makes a new friend... **


End file.
